(Alamy)
4 min read5 hr
Students have launched a campaign urging the government to make it easier for those attending university or college to register to vote.
The National Union of Students UK (NUS) and Purpose Union are calling on ministers to roll out a nationwide auto-enrolment system that would “remove the needless barriers for universities and colleges”.
The push is backed by the Greens, with Brighton Pavilion MP Siân Berry saying “it is more important than ever that students and young people have a say in their futures.”
Launching the campaign, the NUS pointed to recent auto-enrolment trials at individual educational institutions that successfully boosted voter registration, such as a 2023 trial at the University of Nottingham, which increased voter registration applications from under 1,000 to over 23,000, representing 64 per cent of all students.
As part of this scheme, new and returning students were asked during the online registration process for the academic year whether they would be happy for their data to be shared with their term-time local council to allow voter registration.
While such a trial was a success, the NUS has warned that implementing auto-enrolment can be arduous and expensive for institutions when done individually, as it means setting up their own data-sharing arrangements with local authorities where their students live.
The NUS is calling on ministers to invest in a technical solution that would allow student data from across the country to be funnelled into the existing Individual Electoral Registration (IER) hub, which in turn would make it easier for students to join the electoral register.
The Labour government is committed to lowering the voting age to 16, but there are concerns about low levels of engagement among young people.
In 2023, the Electoral Commission found that around 60 per cent of adults under 20 were not registered to vote.
The Electoral Reform Society (ERS) says starting university is a “crucial point where many young people can either drop off the electoral register or miss being added altogether”.
“Auto-enrolling students as part of a wider automated voting scheme would help ensure that young people are correctly registered come polling day and able to cast that all-important, habit-forming first vote. This will ultimately increase participation in elections and strengthen our democracy,” ERS Chief Executive Darren Hughes told PoliticsHome.
The NUS is pushing the government to deliver this reform in the next year to ensure that students have the opportunity to take advantage of it before the next general election. While the next election is currently scheduled for 2029, there is speculation that Prime Minister Andy Burnham might be tempted to capitalise on positive polling and go to the country sooner.
NUS England President Favour Samuel said: “If the government doesn’t act soon, we risk another general election with unequal democratic processes which disproportionately prevent young people, minorities, and private renters from voting.”
Samuel added: “We want to see the government invest in a simple technical solution which would streamline the process, remove the needless barriers for universities and colleges and enable every young person to exercise their right to vote.”
Green MP Berry told PoliticsHome: “As the climate crisis, housing and living costs for young people intensify, it is more important than ever that students and young people have a say in their futures.
“The Labour Party has a responsibility to follow through on its commitment to improve voter registration rates, and I welcome this call from NUS and Prospect Union for the government to invest in student auto-enrolment.”
A Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government spokesperson told PoliticsHome: “We want to make sure registering to vote is easier for all – which is why we have said we will work towards a new automated voter registration system to make the process easier.
“Through the Representation of the People Bill, we are also making changes before the next general election which will make better use of data across government so that eligible voters can be easily identified and supported to register to vote.”
