Stop electoral register being used by junk mail companies!

05/09/2008

Very few people escape the modern trend of junk mail Give your address to a company, or buy a product - and suddenly there are so- called 'unbeatable offers' flooding through your front door every week. More recycling. But now a new survey has shown overwhelming support for a change in the law to ban junk mail companies from gaining access to voters’ details through the electoral register.

 

The survey, carried out by the Local Government Association and the Association of Electoral Administrators (AEA), showed that well over nine in ten elections officers in councils around the country think that the Government should change the law to stop direct marketing companies gaining access to the electoral register. At the moment, by law councils have to comply with requests when they are made.

 

Interestingly, the survey also reveals that almost nine in ten believe that the practice of selling the electoral roll discourages people from registering to vote.

 

Cllr Richard Kemp, Deputy Chairman of the LGA said: “This new survey clearly shows that town halls hugely resent having to pass the electoral roll to direct marketing companies. Most people hate junk mail and cold calling and councils don’t want to be a part of the process that generates money for junk mail companies in this way.

 

”Selling the electoral roll undermines democracy, dissuades people from voting and gives people the impression that the council is profiting from selling their personal information. Ministers must change the law to ban junk mail firms from getting their information through the electoral roll.

 

“A change in the law would cut down on the junk mail that can infuriate homeowners and would also be a way of boosting the number of people who register to vote at a time when turnout is at an all- time low.”

John Turner, Chief Executive of the AEA, said “We have constantly argued that the electoral register should be used for one purpose only - the conduct of elections. The results of this survey are therefore not at all surprising.

 

“What is surprising is that, despite these and similar findings and the clear recommendation from the Data Sharing Review, there is still no real indication that the Government will act to remove the need for an edited register and the use of electoral registration information for such purposes.”

 

 

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