Electoral registration in Britain: inequality, reform and the prospects for automatic registration

某些社会群体的选举登记水平较低的问题尚未得到充分研究，但登记不足的情况集中在某些已经处于不利地位和被疏远的群体中。最近对选举登记规则的修改使人担心一些团体可能受到不利影响。政府就青少年、私人租住人士及非公屋人士等未登记人士的影响进行谘询，结果显示，在新的个人登记制度下，这些人士可能会面临风险。然而，改革可能已经解决了边缘化的一些原因。例如，在以前的制度下，多住户住户可能没有收到寄给“现住户”的登记表格。现在，根据国际税收政策的规定，他们将被单独提示，而且实际上可能会得到改善。英国的自愿登记模式似乎过时了。大多数欧洲国家采用自动选民登记，选举委员会建议采用某种形式。其他国家可以从其不同的程序中提供教训，阐明与不平等和信任态度的关系。1)评估新登记制度对弱势社会群体的影响，使用选举登记册。2)评估英国登记规则与社会不平等、政治信任和其他相关态度之间的关系。3)将此扩展到国际比较，为建议的自动选民登记行动吸取经验教训。关于注册的文献较少；英国选举研究的最后两本书没有提到登记（Clarke et al . 2004; Whiteley et al . 2013）。在美国，大多数文献关注的是登记规则对选民投票率的影响；以及在某些未登记人口中评估登记驱动的文献。虽然已经发表了关于登记的国际报告，但这些是非学术性出版物，具有纯粹的描述性价值。因此，这项研究在很多方面都是同类研究中的首例，因此对文献做出了重要的原创性贡献。它也可能产生重大的非学术影响，因为它完全符合选举委员会的主要工作领域之一，因此可能被他们广泛使用。方法与数据改革前后登记水平和投票率的总体水平分析：比较历史和当前的选举登记册，观察登记规则变化的影响。我们将抽样调查少数民族集中程度高、多重剥夺程度高、流动/年轻人口多的地区以及控制区。我们还将使用年龄、姓名和邮政编码等可用信息。我们将包括选举委员会指定的地方当局，因为在改革后登记人数下降特别大（如大曼彻斯特）。2. 对登记与政治信任和其他民主态度之间关系的纵向分析2长期运行的ESRC数据集（英国选举研究和理解社会）将用于理解态度与登记、异化和更广泛的人口统计之间的关系。注册规则、不平等和民主态度之间关系的国际比较研究将使用一个或多个国际可比数据集来了解国际态度、社会不平等和注册之间的关系。我们设想，这将导致对自动选举登记的好处（如果有的话）进行审查。

Lower levels of electoral registration among certain social groups is under-studied, but patterns of under-registration concentrate among certain already disadvantaged and alienated groups. The recent changes to electoral registration rules has led to concerns that some groups may have been impacted negatively. Government consultation on the impact on under-registered groups such as the young, those in privately rented accommodation and BAME groups, has concluded that these may be at risk under the new individual registration (IER) system. However, the reforms may have dealt with some causes of marginality. For example, people in multi-occupier households may not have - under the previous system - received registration forms addressed to 'the present occupier'. Now, under the IER rules they would be individually prompted, and the reach may in fact be improved. The UK format of voluntary registration seems outdated. Most of European countries employ automatic voter registration and some form of this has been recommended by the Electoral Commission. Other countries might offer lessons from their different procedures that shed light on the relationship with inequalities and attitudes of trust. Objectives 1) Assess the impact of the new registration system on vulnerable social groups, using the Electoral Registers. 2) Assess the relationship between registration rules and social inequalities and political trust and other relevant attitudes in the UK. 3) Extend this to an international comparison, drawing lessons for the recommended move to automatic voter registration. Academic impact The literature on registration is sparse; the last 2 books resulting from the British Election Study do not mention registration (Clarke et al 2004; Whiteley et al 2013). In the US, most literature focuses on the influence of registration rules on voter turnout; and the literature evaluating registration drives among certain under-registered populations. While international reports on registration have been published, these are non-academic publications with purely descriptive value. As a result, the proposed study will be in many ways the first of its kind and thus an important original contribution to the literature. It is also likely to have a substantial non-academic impact as it fits squarely within one of the main areas of work by The Electoral Commission and is thus likely to be used by them extensively. Methods and data 1. Aggregate level analysis of registration levels and turnout pre and post reform: Comparison of the historical and current Electoral Registers to observe the impact of the change in registration rules. We will sample areas with high ethnic minority concentration, high multiple deprivation and with a highly transient/young population, as well as control areas. We will also use the available information on age, name and postcode. We will include the Local Authorities named by Electoral Commission as having particularly large drops in registration following the reform (such as Greater Manchester). 2. Longitudinal analysis of the relationship between registration and political trust and other democratic attitudes2 long running ESRC datasets (British Election Study and Understanding Society) will be used to understand the relationship between attitudes and registration, and alienation and wider demographics.3. Internationally comparative study on the relationship between registration rules, inequality and democratic attitudes One or more internationally comparable datasets will be used to understand the relationship between attitudes, social inequality and registration internationally. We envisage that this will lead to an examination of the benefits (if any) of automatic electoral registration.