(Minute 97)
The report of the Chief Executive was submitted, setting out the Government’s consultation proposals on the introduction of individual electoral registration (IER) and the issues they raise. Scrutiny Committee – Resources considered the report at their meeting of 21 September 2011 and the comments of members were noted.
Councillor Hobden attended the meeting and spoke on this item under Standing Order 44. She informed members that the Electoral Commission was broadly in favour of IER and that a survey had indicated that only 56% of the population were satisfied with the current electoral registration arrangements. She believed that the current system was antiquated and one of the few systems in existence not based on individual responsibility. She considered that the practical difficulties identified were surmountable and urged that the Council should more strongly welcome the proposals for Individual Electoral Registration.
The majority of members commented that they were not against the principle of IER but were greatly concerned that the current proposals did not make registration compulsory. They felt this would lead to a significant diminution in democratic participation and devalued the historical efforts made to secure the right to vote.
They felt that the proposals as they currently stood could lead to the disenfranchisement of large groups of society particularly those who were already disengaged with the democratic process or who might choose not to register for personal reasons. They were also aware that IER had not met with great success in Northern Ireland.
Another member hoped that IER might encourage people to take an interest in the democratic process but acknowledged the danger that they may lose the opportunity to vote if they failed to register.
Councillor Taghdissian attended the meeting and spoke on this item under Standing Order 44. He felt that the majority of people were capable of deciding whether they wished to vote and the presumption that many people would not do so was unfounded. Another member commented that since penalties for non-registration were rarely or never enforced currently, the removal of the compulsory element to do so was unlikely to have any significant impact.
Executive resolved that the Chief Executive submits a response along the lines suggested in paragraph 3.2 of the report.