AUTOMATIC voter registration could be introduced in Jersey, if proposals lodged by a Scrutiny panel are approved.
The Privileges and Procedures Committee wants to replace the current paper-based “opt-in” process with an automatic electoral register.
Islanders would be automatically included on the register if they are over 16 and meet the residency criteria.
If approved, information on who should be included on the electoral register will come from the People Directory – a database which draws upon interactions with Revenue Jersey in relation to social security matters, the Register of Names and Addresses, and information held by the Children, Young People, Education and Skills department for those still in full-time education.
Islanders would be able to check online to confirm that they are on the register. If not, they could seek to be included by approaching their Electoral Administrator – which would have the power to add a person to, or remove a person from, the register.
The panel hopes the proposed changes would make it easier for people to vote, and increase the democracy of Jersey’s electoral process by removing barriers to voting.
In Jersey’s 2022 election, only 75% of those eligible to vote registered to do so – and just 31% of those eligible to vote actually cast their ballot.
The panel said: “Neighbourhoods with higher levels of civic participation have a greater sense of community, lower levels of crime, and citizens who are healthier and happier.
“States and countries with greater proportions of civically engaged citizens have lower rates of disease, mental illness, and suicide.
“They also have lower crime rates, as well as having greater economic prosperity, better-educated children, and more effective governments.”
The panel said that Jersey’s current system of self-declaration carries a “degree of risk” as eligibility is not verified, and it does not account for the movement of Islanders in the months leading up to an election.
“The proposed system will allow for a more recent sweep’ of the data, taking account of changes such as people leaving the island or passing away, to ensure a more timely snapshot of the eligible electorate,” the proposal stated.
However, public access to the register would be removed to account for the inability to “opt-out” of the system.
“The rationale for this change is fundamentally to respect personal data, to minimise the risk to survivors of domestic violence and avoid having to write to everyone at the point they become eligible to offer them the option of omission,” the panel said.
If approved, the States Greffe will run a dedicated communications campaign to explain the changes and encourage islanders to use their vote.
“Although online voting remains a desire for many, the search continues for a system which is sufficiently robust, but having a digital register represents a step towards modernising the election process,” the Committee concluded.
