Voters turning away from the ballot box with weeks to go

A total of 19,538 voters had signed up on the new electoral roll by the end of February, compared with 23,095 at the same time in 2020 ­– a drop of more than 15%.

At the equivalent time before the 2016 general election, nearly 25,000 people had enrolled to vote, although figures indicate that voters typically signed up earlier in those days.

Anyone wanting to vote in the general election in June has until the end of next month to sign up and States officials are hoping for a surge in registrations during the final seven weeks of their enrolment campaign.

‘Take up has been a little slower compared to the 2020 electoral roll,’ said registrar-general of electors Colette Falla.

‘With any campaign such as this, it is natural to have a spike in uptake at the beginning and end, with a lull during the middle.

‘We hope and expect to see a significant increase as the sign-up deadline approaches, and we continue to promote the electoral roll extensively to raise awareness of how easy it is for people to register.’

Some aspects of the current enrolment drive have been more low key than in 2020, when the States ran the #Countmein campaign, which featured local faces backing the message about signing up to have a voice in future decisions.

The States has set aside a total of £110,000 for marketing and advertising relating to the 2025 general election, but encouraging people to sign up on the new electoral roll is only one element of that budget.

Mrs Falla said that promotion of the roll would continue across digital, social and traditional media until the 30 April registration deadline.

Scrutiny president Yvonne Burford, who led a review of island-wide voting earlier this term, believed that perceptions about the current States may be ‘a contributory factor’ for many.

‘It is disappointing to see that numbers are that far down on last time,’ she said.

‘The Scrutiny review certainly showed a level of disillusionment around island-wide voting among some people who had previously supported the change, and this may be contributing to the lower number of enrolments.

‘However, a third of those replying to the survey who were not registered said they had either missed the deadline or didn’t know they needed to register.’

Carl Meerveld, who led the successful campaign for island-wide voting when it was backed in a referendum seven years ago, was unsurprised that voter registrations were down.

He felt that two elements of the 2020 election had boosted participation.

‘First, Covid meant the election was initially delayed and then had a shorter lead-in time, which led to it being an unusual election with a higher profile,’ he said.

‘Second, as the first island-wide election, it was a novelty, and I think that encouraged a larger number of candidates and probably a larger number of voters as well.

‘I wouldn’t be surprised if this time we see fewer candidates and fewer people voting, though I sincerely hope the numbers voting are still high because that strengthens the democratic process.’

Deputy Burford encouraged people to sign up, at least to keep open the option of voting, and reminded those registered last time that they needed to register again to voter this year.

Deputy Meerveld hoped the States would develop a long-awaited rolling census over the next few years which could make re-registration unnecessary at future elections.

UNIQUE 2020 ELECTION SPARKED VOTER INTEREST

The number of registered voters was higher in 2020 than it had been at the previous two elections, but lower than in 2008.

A higher turnout in 2020 set a new record for the number of people actually voting.

Households have received forms to sign up to the electoral roll and it can also be done online by visiting www.gov.gg/elections.

Anyone is eligible to enrol provided they are at least 15, and will be at least 16 by polling day, and have been ordinarily resident in Guernsey for the past two years, or for five years in total.