Students risk missing out on votes as universities lag on registration

Some students could miss out on voting in the upcoming general election due to universities not doing enough to encourage registration, according to a survey by Vote For Your Future (VFYF).

The survey by the non-partisan youth registration and turnout organisation, suggested that 25% of universities are doing the “bare minimum” to make sure their students are registered. 

The 70 universities who responded to the survey were scored on five areas of enfranchisement and the results found that universities across the UK scored an average of 3.8 out of five, with universities displaying variations of effort in relation to student voting. 

The survey also suggested that more than half of the universities did not have a way of telling what proportion of students might be on the electoral roll.

This is a disenfranchisement crisis waiting to happen

– Vote For Your Future

Twelve out of the fifteen top universities surveyed were using technology to integrate voter registration into student enrollment, with some universities giving students time to register to vote at the beginning of lectures, an action supported by the University College Union in their #MakeTheVoterPledge campaign. 

Universities and colleges in England are expected to facilitate cooperation with local authorities and enable the registration of their students under the Higher Education and Research Act 2017, a condition of their registration with the Office for Students (OfS).

In order to vote in the upcoming elections, you must apply for voter registration before 11:59pm on 26 November, which can be done through the government’s online system.

The effort to contact students directly has made an impact on the number of students registering to vote as Jamie Chahal, a first-year student at the University of Liverpool, said that “emails, reminders on their virtual network, and weekly lectures in the SU to discuss the importance of voting in such a pivotal election” have impacted the student body there.   

Government data has shown that out of 177,000 that registered to vote on the first day of the campaign, 59,000 of these applicants were under 25 years old. 

As this election is during many universities’ term time, there is concern that young people under 25 may be unable to vote, with VFYF claiming: “This is a disenfranchisement crisis waiting to happen”.

When asked what needs to be done to improve voter registration drives at universities, Oliver Bourton, a first-year History and Politics student at the University of Warwick, said: “The University should advertise an open stall, positioned in areas where most students visit”.