Overview

This bill aims to improve voter registration in the UK by empowering registration officers to proactively register citizens and by mandating data sharing between government bodies and registration officers to identify eligible voters. The bill focuses on increasing voter registration amongst specific under-represented groups.

Description

The Voter Registration Bill grants the Secretary of State the power to create regulations for data sharing between government bodies (like the DVLA, DWP, HM Passport Office, and the NHS) and registration officers. This shared data, including name, address, date of birth and National Insurance number, will assist in identifying eligible voters. Registration officers will be required to use this information to register individuals or make further inquiries if additional data is needed. Crucially, no data sharing can occur without an individual's consent.

Key Changes

• Active Registration: Registration officers must take active steps to increase registration among specific groups: 16-24 year olds, people with disabilities, and people from under-represented racial groups.
• Voter Engagement Sessions: Registration officers must organize at least one voter engagement session per academic year at each school and further education college in their area.

The bill defines "specified applications" (like driving licence applications) and "specified government bodies" to clarify which data can be used and which organizations will share it.

Government Spending

The bill doesn't directly specify a cost, but the implementation of the new data-sharing system and the requirement for voter engagement sessions will likely increase government spending. Exact figures are not provided in the bill text.

Groups Affected

• Registration Officers: Increased responsibilities and workload.
• Government Bodies (DVLA, DWP, HM Passport Office, NHS): Required to share specified data with registration officers.
• Young People (16-24): Targeted for increased registration efforts.
• People with Disabilities: Targeted for increased registration efforts.
• Under-represented Racial Groups: Targeted for increased registration efforts.
• Schools and Further Education Colleges: Required to host voter engagement sessions.

Powered by nyModel