An automatic voter registration system will be introduced in Jersey after a proposal to modernise democracy was overwhelmingly approved in the States Chamber yesterday.
The Privileges and Procedures Committee proposed replacing the current paper-based ‘opt-in’ process with an automatic electoral register in a bid to make it easier for people to vote.
Politicians approved the proposition yesterday with 42 votes for, none against, and one abstention.
Islanders will be automatically included on the register if they are over 16 and meet the residency criteria.
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.
An accepted amendment to the draft legislation means there will be no public access to the register, but islanders will be able to opt-out of voting by contacting their Parish Electoral Administrator.
Committee chair Karen Stone said that although “there is an element of risk associated with the change, the Privileges and Procedures Committee considers the risk involved in bringing forward the Automatic Voting Registration is one that we can all mitigate”.
“Those people who didn’t put themselves on the register in the past for whatever reason can choose not to take part in the automatic electoral process,” she added.
Addressing her fellow States Members directly, Constable Stone concluded: “We can all play our part, if we are standing [for election] again or not, by encouraging everyone to vote next year.”
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.
Further amendments to the legislation, such as voting rights for prisoners and reducing residency eligibility are set for separate debate by politicians.