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

对某些社会群体中选民登记率较低的情况研究不足，但登记不足的情况主要集中在某些已经处于不利地位和被排斥的群体中。最近对选举登记规则的修改使人们担心一些群体可能受到不利影响。政府就对登记不足的群体，如年轻人、私人租房者和黑人、亚裔和少数族裔群体的影响进行了磋商，得出的结论是，在新的个人登记制度下，这些群体可能面临风险。然而，改革可能解决了一些边缘化的原因。例如，在以前的制度下，多住户家庭的人可能没有收到发给“现住户”的登记表格。现在，在IER规则下，他们将被单独提示，实际上可能会有所改善。英国的自愿登记模式似乎已经过时。大多数欧洲国家都采用自动选民登记，选举委员会也建议采用某种形式。其他国家可以从其不同的程序中提供经验教训，阐明不平等与信任态度之间的关系。（1）利用选举登记册，评估新的登记制度对弱势社会群体的影响。2)评估注册规则与英国社会不平等和政治信任以及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。关于登记的文献很少;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，大多数文献集中在选民投票率的登记规则的影响;和文献评估登记驱动器在某些登记不足的人口。虽然已经出版了关于登记的国际报告，但这些报告是纯粹具有描述性价值的非学术出版物。因此，拟议中的研究将在许多方面是第一次，因此是一个重要的原始贡献的文学。它还可能产生重大的非学术影响，因为它正好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。方法和数据1。改革前后登记水平和投票率的综合水平分析：比较历史和当前的选举登记册，以观察登记规则变化的影响。我们将对少数民族高度集中、多重贫困和高度流动/年轻人口的地区以及对照地区进行抽样。我们还将使用有关年龄、姓名和邮政编码的可用信息。我们将包括选举委员会命名的地方当局，因为在改革后登记人数下降特别大（如大曼彻斯特）。2.对登记和政治信任以及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）将用于了解态度和登记之间的关系，以及异化和更广泛的人口统计学。关于登记规则、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态度、社会不平等和国际登记之间的关系。我们预期这会导致研究自动选民登记的好处（如果有的话）。

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 The UK format of voluntary registration seems outdated.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.