Exemplar 1: Register to vote
Published 1 June 2013
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This publication is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/gds-transformation-programme-2013-to-2015/exemplar-1-register-to-vote
5 million people registering online to vote each year. Moving 46 million voters from household to individual registration.
Department responsible
| Department | Programme | Permanent secretary | Digital leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cabinet Office | Electoral Registration Transformation Programme | Richard Heaton | Paul Maltby |
Status
Service is live in England, Wales and Scotland.
Watch a video about the live service, filmed July 2014:
Video: Register to vote online
Watch an update on the beta, filmed December 2013:
Video: Exemplar 1: Electoral registration - Update
Watch a short description of the exemplar, filmed December 2013:
Video: Exemplar 1: Electoral registration - Background
You can also watch a demo of the service’s back end system, filmed July 2013.
Video: Exemplar 1: Electoral registration - Demo
Successes
387 local authorities can now check electoral registers against Department for Work and Pensions data.
Registration details of 46 million people checked by all local authorities in England and Wales.
Built online registration service for 99.9% of voters.
The live service was released for users in England, Wales and Scotland.
Welsh language service released.
Live performance dashboard released.
On 21 August 2014 the millionth registration was submitted using the service.
Challenges
Ensuring the Cabinet Office’s capability to run the live service.
Next
Maintain and improve live service.
Digital strategy statement
From the Cabinet Office digital strategy (December 2012):
[We will] increase public trust in the electoral system by improving the accuracy and security of the register…
Scope of exemplar
The Electoral Registration Transformation Programme will improve the electoral registration process by introducing Individual Electoral Registration (IER). Instead of one person in a household supplying the details of all people living at the same address (which can result in fraud and errors), IER will require people to register individually.
To support IER and make it simpler for users, a new digital channel will be created and a method of confirming identities will be introduced. IER is intended to increase trust and modernise our electoral system.
Digital inclusion
GDS has mapped the exemplars against the digital inclusion scale to help show where these services may be difficult for some people to use. See the rating for Electoral registration.
Delivery status
Discovery
Completed: Discovery - February 2012.
Read about the discovery phase.
Alpha
Completed: Alpha build - May 2012.
Beta
Completed: Registration system build - June 2013.
Completed: Registration system local authority beta - September 2013.
Completed: Ministerial approval given to release service - December 2013.
Completed: Ordinary elector transaction - December 2013.
Completed: Live service environment build - January 2014.
Completed: Overseas and special category elector transactions - May 2014.
Live
Completed: Service goes live (England and Wales) - June 2014.
Completed: Start national media campaign - July 2014.
Completed: Service goes live (Scotland) - September 2014.
Anticipated volume
37m confirmed on the new electoral register in first year
5m new applications in first year
Service link
See the Register to vote service.