As many as 43,000 residents of Hackney could be denied a vote in London’s mayoral elections, after changes to voter registration saw them removed from the electoral roll.
The Conservative government introduced changes to the voter registration system in December.
Mayoral Elections
The new system relies on individuals, rather than households, registering to vote. However, this lack of collective registration means that many people, especially younger voters, will not have registered in time for the election.
As the Council failed to submit electoral registration data to the Electoral Commission by the December 2015 deadline up to 43,000 eligible voters may have been removed from the electoral roll.
Hackney Council was the only local authority in England that could not provide an accurate figure for the number of eligible voters who were removed from the register.
Data from an Electoral Commission report in May revealed that over one in five of the entries on Hackney’s register had not been confirmed. In comparison, less than one in 20 names were unconfirmed nationwide.
That meant Hackney Council had the least accurate electoral roll in the country, according to the report.
Khan
Sadiq Khan, the London Labour mayoral candidate, has pleaded with potential voters to register as his party fear his election campaign will be disproportionately affected by the changes to the electorate.
He also attacked the Conservative’s handling of the issue.
He told the Evening Standard last week: “Despite the warnings that their plans would see Londoners lose their vote, including from the independent Electoral Commission, they’ve arrogantly ploughed on regardless.
“My message to Londoners is clear: it is more important than ever that you register to vote and have your say. Don’t let the Tories take your vote away.”
Momentum
Heather Mendick, co-organiser of Momentum Hackney, joined criticism of the reforms to voter registration.
“The proposals have been brought forward by a year, and it is no surprise that these reforms will disenfranchise many people who are not natural Conservative voters at the Mayoral elections.
“This is just one of a number of anti-democratic measures brought in by the Conservative party, such as the Trade Union Bill, which could strip up to £6 million in funding from the Labour party.”
The problems with the electoral roll are the latest in a number of electoral issues in Hackney. At the general election in 2015, more than 100 Hackney residents were denied votes at the ballot box, despite registering on time, due to a Council IT failure. Queues formed outside Hackney Town Hall as they tried to resolve the issue on the morning of the election.
Photo: City hall in London at dawn, MatthiasKabel
