All households are being asked to confirm their details for the electoral register in an update which will help to keep the register accurate ahead of this year’s local authority and House of Keys elections.
The annual ‘canvass’ process is in line with the requirements of the Registration of Electors Act 2006. Registration forms are being delivered this week and must be returned by February 1.
Electoral registration officer Della Fletcher said: ‘An accurate electoral register is important for the integrity of the democratic process. Over time people change address and the register becomes increasingly unreliable. After a year has passed we do not know if people are still living at the address at which they are registered.
‘In the absence of a system to monitor the movements of all individual citizens, the only way to maintain an accurate register is to make the voter responsible for keeping their entry alive and up to date. That is why we have the annual canvass giving every household the opportunity to confirm details for the register and secure the right to vote.’
Registration forms have been sent to all households currently listed on the electoral register, and to ‘The Occupier’ at properties with no registered electors. Those who fail to respond will be contacted subsequently as the electoral registration officer is obliged to ensure that the information on the register is accurate. Therefore, it may be necessary to take steps to correct inaccuracies, which could result in a person’s removal from the register.
Mrs Fletcher said good progress had been made tidying up the electoral register to make it more reliable and accurate than it had been for several years.
But she added: ‘There is no doubt that the island’s electoral legislation is in need of modernisation, and a root and branch review has already been set in motion. This is a huge and complex issue, however, and a new system cannot be developed until after this year’s general election.’