AUTOMATIC voter registration (AVR) is set to be introduced in the United Kingdom for the first time after the Welsh Senedd passed a ground-breaking bill today.

The Elections and Elected Bodies (Wales) Bill was this week (July 9) voted through with an over two thirds majority and will see AVR introduced for 2026, pending successful trials.

AVR means voters are automatically added to the register by local authority officers and don’t have to initiate the process themselves. Voters are then contacted to ensure the details are correct and to ensure they are happy to be added to the register and whether they want to register anonymously.

The Electoral Reform Society has hailed the passing of the bill as a big step forward for Welsh democracy that will help to enfranchise the up to 400,000 missing voters who are not on registered to vote or registered incorrectly in Wales.

AVR is already used around the world such as in Sweden, Denmark, Estonia and some US states.
The Electoral Reform Society is now urging the UK government to bring AVR in across the United Kingdom to help enfranchise millions of missing voters. The Labour Party has committed to ‘improve voter registration’ in its manifesto.

During the general election there were 2.9 million applications to register to vote [5] across the UK. However, last year, the Electoral Commission found that up to 8 million people were not registered to vote or registered incorrectly.

There are substantial demographic inequalities in terms of the different people more likely to be registered to vote. Electoral Commission figures show that young people are far less likely to be registered to vote than older people, with 60% of 18 and 19-year-olds registered in Great Britain and 67% of 20-24-year-olds, compared to 96% of over 65s.

Darren Hughes, Chief Executive of Electoral Reform Society, said: “Participation is a vital sign of the health of our democracy, so it is crucial that as many people as possible are able to cast their vote.

“The passing of this bill is a groundbreaking moment for democracy in Wales, as well as the wider United Kingdom. Automatic voter registration is a win-win for voters as it takes one more thing off their to-do list while also strengthening our democracy by helping to enfranchise the hundreds of thousands of missing voters in Wales.

“Labour have committed to improving voter registration and we would urge the new UK government to now bring in AVR to end the scandal of the millions of voters missing from the electoral rolls.

“The introduction of measures such as voter ID in recent years mean people now face more barriers to casting their vote than at previous elections. It is crucial that we reverse this trend by expanding access to voting and making it easier for people to exercise their basic democratic right.”

Jess Blair, Director of ERS Cymru, said: “The passing of the Elections and Elected Bodies (Wales) Bill today sees Wales lead the way when it comes to modernising UK democracy. The introduction of AVR will level the playing field and should vastly reduce the number of people missing from the register.

“This Bill also sees an emphasis on improving the information available to voters at election time and puts measures in place to increase the diversity of our political institutions.

“Modernising Welsh democracy has been an ongoing piece of work with the franchise extended to 16 and 17-year-olds for Welsh elections back in 2020. Recently the Senedd also voted to strengthen the Welsh Parliament by increasing the number of members and moving to a proportional list voting system.

“The new government in Westminster should look across Offa’s Dyke and learn from the democratic innovation taking place in Wales. Welsh voters will soon have many more barriers removed to their participation and we hope voters across the border will soon join them in this.”