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Maximising Registration and IER

Maximising Registration and IER . Charlotte Snelling Social Researcher, Customer Registration Team, Constitution Group, Cabinet Office. Individual Electoral Registration.

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Maximising Registration and IER

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  1. Maximising Registration and IER Charlotte Snelling Social Researcher, Customer Registration Team, Constitution Group, Cabinet Office

  2. Individual Electoral Registration A change from the current system of ‘household registration’ to one where everyone registers individually.IER will include a modern electoral registration system with personal responsibility.Applicants will have their identity confirmed or verified before being added to the electoral register.For the first time, citizens will be able to register to vote online. Maximising Registration and IER

  3. How does IER work? • All electors must register to vote individually and have their application verified before being added to the register. • Each must provide: •  Name National Insurance Number and Date of birth • These are cross checked with DWP before names are added to the register, or appropriate proof of identity can be provided to an Electoral Registration Officer (ERO). There are alternative ways to verify for those unable to find their National Insurance Number. • Requirement for signature dropped –allowing online registration. Maximising Registration and IER

  4. Citizen The IER Digital Service Online Application Data Checked IER Digital Service Local Authority Local Authority Local Authority Local Authority ……………………… Local Authority Maximising Registration and IER

  5. Maximising registration fund 2013/14 Maximising Registration and IER

  6. Why ‘maximising registration’? • EROs have a duty to maintain an accurate and complete electoral register. • The Government is determined to support EROs in ensuring as complete and accurate a register as possible, as part of the transition to IER. • This includes funding and promoting work at a national and local level to maximise registration levels. Maximising Registration and IER

  7. Analysis of under-registration • To inform maximising registration activity, we sought to understand the following: Maximising Registration and IER

  8. Decline in registration • Registration rates have been in steady decline for decades • Electoral register 85% to 87% complete in 2011 • Approx 6m people ‘missing’ from register • Members of certain groups are statistically less likely to be on the register Sources: Electoral Commission: Great Britain’s Electoral Registers, 2011 and the Wilks-Heeg Literature Review: Electoral Registration in the UK Source: The Electoral Office for Northern Ireland, 2009 Maximising Registration and IER

  9. Completenessrate by ethnicity Completeness rate by age range Completeness levels Source: Electoral Commission: Great Britain’s Electoral Registers , 2011 Maximising Registration and IER

  10. Under-registered groups (URGs) • The UK Electoral Commission research on patterns of under-registration: Source: Great Britain’s Electoral Registers, 2011: register completeness in under-registered groups (Electoral Commission, 2011) Maximising Registration and IER

  11. Regression analysis aimed to find out whether these factors (tenure, ethnicity, age etc.) drive under-registration. Data used: 2011 Census Mid-year population estimates UK Electoral Registration Statistics Maximising Registration and IER

  12. Highlighted in blue are demographic characteristics with a statistically significant relationship to under-registration. Source: Electoral Registration Analysis (Cabinet Office, 2013) Maximising Registration and IER

  13. Confirmation • Matching of existing electoral register against records held by DWP. • Electors ‘passported’ to new system without being required to provide personal identifiers. • Electoral administrators free to focus limited resources on minority of electors who cannot be confirmed and those currently unregistered. • Confirmation Dry Run (CDR), Summer 2013 • All LAs in England and Wales, and all VJBs in Scotland; 46 million people’s records checked. Maximising Registration and IER

  14. CDR results • Green flag – positive result, individual confirmed • Amber flag – possible match, may be confirmed by local data matching • Red flag – no match found • Average green match rate of 78%, median of 81% (range 47-86%). • Average increases to 85% with local data matching. • 15 to 22% of currently registered electors unlikely to confirm. • Lower in: urban areas, student towns, predominantly private renter areas... • Source: Simplifying the transition to Individual Electoral Registration: An evaluation of the ‘confirmation dry run’ – using data matching to confirm electors on the electoral register (Cabinet Office , 2013) Maximising Registration and IER

  15. Source: Electoral Registration Analysis (Cabinet Office, 2013) Maximising Registration and IER

  16. Maximising registration: phase 1 • Competitive process with funding awarded to 24 Local Authorities (LAs) and Valuation Joint Boards (VJBs), including some joint cross-LA bids. • Case studies of activities undertaken by LAs fall into three broad categories: • Partnership working with third parties (i.e. housing associations, universities, schools) to target under registered groups • Undertaking intensive canvassing of URGs • Publicity and communications activity to target under-registered groups Maximising Registration and IER

  17. Examples of engagement activities • Partnership working with third parties • Attending Youth Service meetings • Registration sessions in schools • Liaising with social housing providers to include registration forms in welcome packs for new tenants • Intensive Canvassing • Targeted mail-outs to wards with low registration rates • Identifying the numbers of specific URGs against Census data of the total number living in the authority. Local data could then establish where wards have a higher proportion of households with URG profiles. • Publicity / communications activity • Face-to-face promotion at sixth form colleges and universities • Announcements on university radio channels • Promotional flyers with Council Tax bills and Social Housing tenant newsletters • Social media, QR codes and bespoke videos to universities and colleges Maximising Registration and IER

  18. Maximising Registration and IER

  19. Evaluation • To help inform future registration maximising strategies, and develop future funding opportunities for LAs/VJBs. • To measure impact and process. • -How many new registrations? • - How were the registrations achieved? • - How cost-effective were the activities? • To identify examples of good practice suitable for wider roll-out. • - Successful activities • - Lessons learnt • - Recommendations • To make a wider contribution to debates on the efficiency and effectiveness of traditional canvass activity versus more innovative approaches. Maximising Registration and IER

  20. Local rates of under-registration • Local data matching against electoral register • Council tax records, housing association records, housing benefits claimants lists, local housing databases • Education records and ONS Electoral Statistics • Two-tier data sharing • Census data, population estimates, Electoral Commission registration rates • MOSAIC analysis • Utilising local organisations and specialist community groups • Records from previous canvasses Maximising Registration and IER

  21. Impact • Overall impact on registration rate • URG completeness before/after • % increase • % registered of those targeted (success rate) • Colour coded/marked forms, website sign up, pre-populated forms • Noting duplicate, incomplete, ineligible forms • Cost per elector targeted and cost per elector registered • Estimating registrations from engagement • Tracking registration figures against events • Control areas and social ‘experiments’ Maximising Registration and IER

  22. Process • Objectives • Why targeting chosen URGs? How targeting chosen URGs? • Delivery • Any changes? Any obstacles? What was successful? Partnerships? • Impact on workflows • Any additional training needs? Extra work? How easily incorporated? • Evaluation method • How were registrations captured? Engagement? Feedback? • Costs • Additional costs? Efficiency savings? • Lessons learnt • Recommendations? Future changes? Maximising Registration and IER

  23. Preliminary findings... • Responses from 20 of 24 LAs/VJBs received • Process of analysis ongoing • Interviews and case studies planned • We have also produced evaluation guidance and forms for LAs/VJBs which received funding following the announcement in Feb 2014. • Initial assessments are currently coming in outlining plans for activity. • Evaluation is being strongly encouraged across LAs and VJBs. Maximising Registration and IER

  24. Any questions? • Charlotte Snelling • Social Researcher, Customer Registration, Constitution Group, Cabinet Office • Charlotte.Snelling@cabinet-office.gsi.gov.uk Maximising Registration and IER

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