Research conducted by YouGov for the Electoral Commission found that 69 percent of people don't know when the voter registration deadline is for the General Election, with 13 percent thinking it is already too late to register. When given a choice of five options only 32% correctly identified the deadline as 20 April.
The survey found that 21 percent of people who rent privately think they're automatically registered to vote if they pay council tax and 40 percent of those surveyed think it is not possible to register to vote online in England, Scotland and Wales.
Jenny Watson, Chair of the Electoral Commission, said: "A General Election can prompt a great deal of excitement and debate, with voters keen to have their say. But there are a lot of misconceptions, with many people not realising they aren't registered or how easy it is to do.
"We don't want anyone to be told 'no' on polling day, so if you aren't registered take action now by registering at www.gov.uk/register-to-vote… And why not share the fact that you've done so with your family and friends to help them get the message."
Ballot on the Box
The commission found that many people also aren't registered to vote because they haven't got round to it yet, with over 60% of people who moved house in the last year not being registered. Television adverts and increased digital activity — including adverts on catch-up TV and Facebook — will be aired from March 16.
Peter Kellner's latest election prediction http://t.co/tKZm0qXzkU pic.twitter.com/PUbLH9pB2r
— YouGov (@YouGov) March 16, 2015
The watchdog's campaign seeks to address under-registration in an engaging way by using the concept of 'loss aversion' from behavioural economics. In certain situations people are more likely to be motivated by realising they may lose something, than the prospect of making a gain.
For the first time the elections watchdog will also be using mobile advertising to target young people on EE, O2 and Vodafone networks. They are set to receive SMS/MMS messages encouraging them to register to vote in the run-up to May.
Voting starts for the #GeneralElection starts in 1 month when the postal votes go out
— Ravi Subramanian (@RaviSubbie) March 16, 2015
Previous research by the Commission found that 44 percent of those not registered to vote incorrectly believed that they were. In separate research conducted in 2014, the elections watchdog also found that white or Asian people are more likely to be registered to vote (86 percent and 84 percent respectively) than those identifying as Black (76 percent).
