Concern as voters fall off register

EVIDENCE of significant slumps in the number of people properly registered to vote has fuelled warnings from a watchdog over UK Government reform plans.

Research carried out by the Electoral Commission found at least six million potential voters were missing from rolls in December 2010 – more than 50 per cent higher than a decade before.

The study – funded by the Cabinet Office – also suggested that number had leapt to 8.5 million by April as people “fell off” the register because of factors such as moving home.

That represents 17.7 per cent of the eligible electorate.

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The UK Government plans to switch to a system of individual electoral registration (IER) for the 2015 general election.

Jenny Watson, chairwoman of the Electoral Commission, said: “It will be important to have an annual canvass in early 2014 to make sure that the transition from household to individual electoral registration takes place from the best possible base.”