New figures from the Electoral Commission have revealed that hundreds of thousands of potential Scottish voters are missing from the electoral roll.
The Electoral Commission’s first major study of the ‘completeness’ of the electoral register in three years reveals that 16 per cent of people who should be on the Parliamentary roll are not, while 13% of entries are inaccurate.
Unless those missing from the register sign up soon after a snap election is announced, they risk being losing their vote, the Elecoral Reform Society (ERS) have warned.
While exact numbers are unavailable for the Parliamentary register, between 630,000 and 890,000 people in Scotland are missing from the local electoral roll.
As the Parliamentary register and local register 'completeness' levels are almost the same, the ERS believes that hundreds of thousands of people are missing from the electoral roll for a snap election in Scotland. Renters and young people in Scotland are particularly likely to be excluded.
The ERS found that the number of registered electors is actually going down despite the population rising, and the number eligible to be on the register growing significantly through the adoption of votes at 16/17.
And there are another 400,000 and 745,000 inaccurate entries on the local government registers in December 2018 - with the wrong details for people without them necessarily being prevented from voting.
Many other countries – including Canada, Finland and Belgium – have more universal voter registration systems, where people can sign up whenever they engage with government bodies, or they are automatically opted in.
The Electoral Reform Society are calling for moves towards automatic registration to deal with the ‘hidden crisis of under-registration’.
Dr Jess Garland, Director of Policy and Research for the ERS said: “These figures should sound the alarm for anyone who cares about democracy.
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"Hundreds of thousands of potential voters in Scotland are effectively missing from the electoral roll, representing a major barrier to political equality and democratic engagement. That means any snap election will be on the basis of an flawed franchise.
“You shouldn’t have to opt in to your right to vote. As the Electoral Commission says, we need to move towards automatic registration now, starting with being able to check you are registered online, and being able to register whenever you engage with government bodies or services. There’s widespread consensus on this - now it just needs to be done.”
Alice Kinghorn-Gray, Campaigns Officer for Electoral Reform Society Scotland, said: “That voter registration numbers are actually going down is deeply concerning. We urge the Scottish government to explore how it can use its powers to ensure everyone has a stake in our democracy.
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“The gaps in registration are creating major inequalities in our elections, with young people and renters particularly affected.
"Parties must respond with action, and start to bring in the ‘missing millions’. Let’s ensure the next election does not exclude huge swathes of our country and instead represents the gold standard for participation.”
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