Written evidence from Unlock Democracy[1] (RGE 07)

Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee 

Review of the 2024 general election inquiry

1.     About Unlock Democracy

Unlock Democracy believes in a vibrant, inclusive democracy that puts power in the hands of the people. It campaigns on a wide range of democracy-related issues including transparency and accountability of government, electoral reform, greater devolution, deliberative democracy and a written constitution.

2.     About New Europeans UK

The charitable object of New Europeans UK that is relevant to this review is ‘the relief of the needs of UK citizens resident in the EU and EEA’.

3.     Why are Unlock Democracy and New Europeans UK submitting evidence?

Unlock Democracy has been campaigning against photo voter ID for the last four years and has significant knowledge of the experience of overseas voters in exercising their right to vote (through postal voting) and barriers to their effective representation.  Unlock Democracy is also campaigning for Automatic Voter Registration.

New Europeans UK has been working with Unlock Democracy to improve the experience of overseas voters in exercising their right to vote (through postal voting) and to reduce barriers to their effective representation, including through the establishment of overseas constituencies.

4.     Postal voting

In the period immediately before the July 2024 General Election, Unlock Democracy surveyed overseas voters about their experience of overseas voting.

With help from the British Overseas Voters Forum, the responses were compiled in a report.  Whilst the findings were anecdotal, the number of responses received was sufficient to indicate there are significant problems for postal vote users, including in European countries, where the postal system might be expected to be reliable and swifter. 

The number of responses from France (139) allowed a more detailed analysis to be conducted on UK citizens living and voting from France.

The results showed that, in our sample, more than half of the ballot papers sent to France were received by June 27th, meaning that if they were returned promptly, they had a very good chance of being included in the count.  This is not dissimilar to the Electoral Commission’s figures which found that 75% of French ballots were returned in time to be counted.[2]  

Outside France the percentage received by June 27th was significantly lower and it is safe to assume there was likely to have been a longer delivery time for the return mail as well.  In our sample, we estimated that around 45% of the postal ballots sent by UK election authorities to destinations outside France had no chance of being returned in time to be counted.

Some individual responses below demonstrate the unreliability of the postal system.

An overseas voter in Spain requested their postal vote on the 28th March and received it on the 17th July.  A resident in France asked for their postal vote on the 17th June but still hadn’t received it on the 11th July, commenting that this was the first time in 54 years that he had been unable to vote.  An overseas voter in Canada received confirmation from his local authority that his postal vote was posted on the 14th June but he had still not received it by the 9th July.  A US-based UK citizen received her ballot paper on the 6th July along with, erroneously, an email a few days later from her returning officer threatening her with a fine if she didn’t register to vote.  Many others received their postal votes too close to polling day, after polling day, or not at all

Anticipating problems with postal voting, some survey respondents (from France and Belgium) travelled to the UK instead of relying on postal systems.  Others, at significant personal cost, relied on courier companies to get their votes to the UK in time.

The full report on overseas postal voting can be found here.

Postal Votes Report

The report contains a number of possible solutions.  The only solution that could guarantee that overseas voters’ votes are counted is secure electronic voting.  This is what Unlock Democracy and New Europeans UK recommend.

Allowing voters to securely download and print their own ballot paper, then post it (rather than relying on post arriving from the UK) as proposed by the Electoral Commission could improve the chance of overseas votes being counted substantially, but would still not guarantee arrival in time to be counted.

If secure electronic voting is not an option, the hybrid solution proposed by the Electoral Commission should be considered instead.

5.     The requirement for photographic identification at the polling station

Unlock Democracy remains opposed to photo voter ID.  In 2019, there were three elections in the UK: local elections, a European Election and a General Election. 58 million people voted. Electoral Commission figures from 2019 show 33 reported cases of personation fraud (which photo voter ID was introduced to address) of which 1 case resulted in a conviction.

We welcome the Deputy Prime Minister’s recent confirmation at a HCLG select committee hearing of the small scale of voter fraud and her undertaking to review voter ID: 

“The one thing I would say is that in all of the reports that we’ve had in the past, in terms of electoral fraud [it] is very, very, very, very minor.

“And, therefore, we want to enfranchise people into exercising their vote and we’ll look at voter ID as part of that.”

A review is urgent.  In the UK General Election in 2024, Electoral Commission research found that around 750,000 (4% of all voters) indicated that they did not vote because of photo voter ID.

Furthermore, the Government-issued free Voter Authority Certificate (VAC), that was supposed to help the estimated 750,000 eligible, registered voters who might need it and not have any other accepted ID was a failure. Only 26,000 VACs were used as a form of photo voter ID on the 4th July (210,000 had been issued since January 2023).[3]  It is clear the VAC would have made very little impact had there been greater success at registering the other 1,250,000 people without photo voter ID eligible to go on the electoral register.

Feedback from non-voters in other recent elections where photo voter ID was required confirms many decided not to vote based on the fact that they did not possess photo voter ID, forgot it on election day, lost it shortly before the election, or objected to using photo identification.  These issues would have arisen in the 2024 election just as they did in previous elections.

Democracy Volunteers in their report on the 2024 General Election[4] have documented the range of problems experienced by voters using photo voter identification.

It remains the case over 2 years after photo voter ID was introduced that it is a costly solution for a problem that does not exist.  Unlock Democracy and New Europeans UK recommend that photo voter ID is scrapped. 

6.     Overseas voters

The turnout of overseas voters in the 2024 General Election was significantly lower than the turnout of voters resident in the UK (which was itself at a historically low level).

The low turnout can be explained, in part, by the problems overseas voters have experienced for years with postal voting. 

The relative lack of publicity about the extension of voting rights to all UK citizens abroad is also part of the explanation.  The lack of information has also had an impact on UK parliamentarians, many of whom, in automated replies to constituents, state they can only represent people who live in their constituency.

New Europeans UK, as well as our partner organisation the British Overseas’ Voters Forum surveyed their members abroad after the election, asking them the following questions:

●       Were you aware of the Embassy/ High Commission notifying UK Citizens of the extended right to vote in your country and if so how and when?

●       Did you see any communication from the Electoral Commission on the subject?

●       Were you aware of any other media which targets the British Overseas citizens communicating this new right such as Facebook, websites you often frequent, newspapers published abroad etc.?

●       How did you personally become aware of the new right to vote?

The responses made clear that the level of communication between UK embassies and high commissions, and UK citizens abroad, is very poor.  The FCDO’s approach is different to that adopted by many other nations which encourage their citizens to register with their embassies.  This then enables their embassies to communicate with their citizens by email over issues such as electoral registration and elections.   

Additionally, very few respondents to the survey had received any communications from the Electoral Commission. 

Most people, if they had received any information, did so through friends, family, or local news websites and UK press.

One further aspect that Unlock Democracy believes impacted overseas voters' low turnout in July is the absence of overseas constituency MPs, where an overseas constituency is an electoral district located outside of the state territory borders that is designated as a district for the representation of eligible overseas voters residing there.

In countries where overseas voters vote for overseas constituency MPs, registration and turnout is often higher.

This could be driven by a number of factors, including more effective representation demonstrated by the almost exclusive focus overseas constituency MPs place on the needs of their overseas constituents (cf the social media output of French overseas constituency MPs which regularly features issues affecting their overseas’ constituents).  This raises the profile of overseas constituency MPs with their overseas’ constituents, driving higher registration and turnout.

Overseas constituency MPs, who may live in their overseas constituency, are also able to meet constituents more easily than a UK MP can meet any of their electors who live abroad. 

For instance the French overseas MP who represents Northern Europe, by spending time in London, the 10th largest ‘French’ city, would easily be able to make contact with a large number of their constituents. 

It is routine for French candidates to conduct tours of their large overseas constituencies, making contact with French lycées, French cultural associations and other organisations abroad which employ or involve significant numbers of French citizens.

The difference between the registration of French overseas voters and UK overseas voters is astounding. 

At the end of 2023 nearly 1.7 million French citizens living abroad were registered to vote, out of an estimated 2.5 million French citizens living abroad[5]. This equates to a registration rate of 68%. 

The figures for the UK were a total of just over 191,000 overseas voters registered for the 2024 general election, out of 3.5 million UK citizens abroad.[6]  This is a registration rate of 5.5%.

The difference in turnout is also noticeable.  Turnout in the first round of the French parliamentary elections by French overseas voters was 36.6%.[7]  Turnout of UK overseas voters in the 2024 General Election was just over 25% (although the exact turnout cannot be ascertained because the number of proxy votes cast is not known).[8]  No direct comparison of these turnout rates is possible because of the far lower level of registration of UK overseas voters.

There is a different argument that can be made for overseas constituencies which is that it may be more democratic and rational for overseas voters to decide who represents them in an overseas constituency, rather than potentially helping to swing the political balance in a constituency they might not have lived in for decades.

France is not alone in having overseas constituencies: 16 other countries of different sizes and electoral systems have established overseas constituencies.

Unlock Democracy and New Europeans UK recommend that the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office introduces a registration system for UK citizens living abroad which could be used, amongst other purposes, to inform or remind them of their right to vote.

Unlock Democracy and New Europeans UK recommend the Government and the Electoral Commission develop a more comprehensive social media strategy to encourage the registration of overseas voters and their participation in UK parliamentary elections.

Unlock Democracy and New Europeans UK recommend that the Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Select Committee, in conjunction with the Housing, Communities and Local Government Select Committee, conducts an inquiry into the merits of the UK adopting an overseas constituency model of representation for UK voters living abroad.

7.     Measures in place to prevent and tackle abuse and intimidation of candidates. 

This is not an area that Unlock Democracy or New Europeans UK focused on, although Unlock Democracy did conduct a survey of candidates after the General Election, receiving just under 190 responses (principally from 2 of the smaller parties).

Most candidates said standing as a candidate was a good experience because they learnt new things, met new people and enjoyed representing their party and engaging in debates.

However abuse, particularly on social media, was what they liked least about standing.  Some respondents stated they received little or no support in dealing with it. 

This did not stop over 70% of respondents saying they would consider being a candidate again at a future General Election.

8.     The voter registration processes.

Unlock Democracy’s focus in the run-up to, and since the General Election has been on permanently and dramatically improving the voter registration process by introducing Automatic Voter Registration (AVR).  The Electoral Commission also advocates AVR[9], as does the Electoral Reform Society[10]. AVR is being trialled by the Welsh government.  AVR would significantly reduce the pressure on Electoral Registration Officers at election time, as far more people would already be registered to vote.

The Electoral Commission estimated in 2023 that up to 8 million people across the United Kingdom were either incorrectly registered to vote or missing completely from the electoral roll.  Young people, private renters, and those who have recently moved, are less likely to be correctly registered to vote.  This leads to lower levels of engagement amongst groups already more likely not to participate in elections.

Unlock Democracy, in a report published in 2023[11], set out the benefits of AVR.

Under AVR, citizens would be automatically registered to vote when interacting with government services, such as applying for a driver's licence, passport, or benefits, retaining the right to opt out if desired.

The potential positive impact of AVR can be illustrated with an example from the US state of Colorado, where AVR added 200,000 new voters to the electoral register in a single year.

In the UK, AVR has the potential to register millions of UK citizens annually: 6.5 million through passport applications, 4 million through DVLA address updates and 2.5 million students through annual enrollment.

AVR is cost-effective. In one US state, the cost per registration via AVR is 3 cents, compared to 83 cents for traditional paper methods.

A final point on AVR is its relevance to votes for 16 and 17 years. The registration rate of younger voters is extremely low and without AVR, it is likely that if 16 year olds are granted the right to vote, only a small number will end up on the electoral roll.  This would repeat the mistake made with overseas voters which saw just 190,000 overseas voters, out of 3.5 million worldwide, register to vote in the General Election in 2024.

Unlock Democracy and New Europeans UK recommend that the UK government addresses any issues identified during the Welsh trials of AVR, and that it implements AVR for the next General Election.

January 2025