Voters should be given a council tax rebate for returning registration forms as part of an effort to reform the UK’s ‘dangerously inefficient’ electoral system, according to a think tank.
Using small rebates of up to £10 rather than fines would help to improve the accuracy of the electoral role, which at next year’s General Election will contain at least 13 million errors.
Policy Exchange warned that a ‘culture of complacency and denial’ among the bodies responsible for electoral administration was undermining local and general elections. It said the Electoral Commission was not fit for purpose and ‘should focus on election administration alone rather than dissipate its energies on policymaking advice or broadening voter engagement’.
In its report, Electoral Omission, the think tank said 18% of the electorate was not included on registers for their current addresses. There should be annual targets for omissions and mistakes and a yearly check to measure the accuracy of the electoral register, it said.
With errors having doubled since the Commission’s creation in 2001, Policy Exchange said a new standards unit should take over the enforcement of election administration responsibilities ‘to ensure the Electoral Commission is doing its job’.
Dr Michael Pinto-Duschinsky, author of the report, said: ‘Democracy in Britain risks being severely damaged if the Electoral Commission fails to address the gaping flaws in the electoral roll which will contain between 12.5 to 15 million errors at the time of the next general election.
‘The shocking number of errors undermines the system of elections for candidates in parliamentary constituencies and local government wards if individuals are able to vote in places they no longer live. Likewise, an error-filled voting roll is an indication of regulatory failure since a complete and accurate list of those qualified to vote is fundamental to electoral democracy.
‘Incidents of fraud across the country, most recently in Tower Hamlets, have called into question the effectiveness of the Electoral Commission. It is high time that policymakers question whether the body is fit for purpose.’
