Up to 170,000 'cannot vote'

Noel Russell
BBC Northern Ireland

Nearly 300 additional polling booths are to be opened

About 170,000 people in Northern Ireland will not be able to vote in the assembly election because they did not register, a report by the Electoral Commission is expected to show.

Another estimated 36,000 people who are on the register will not be able to vote on the day because they do not have proper photographic identity documents.

It is understood that the Electoral Commission report into the working of the Electoral Fraud Act will be published some time in December and it is expected to show that about 13% of eligible voters did not complete registration forms and will not have votes in the election.

Registration is down in all 18 constituencies. The old register, replaced in December 2002, had up to 96% of eligible voters, but it is now accepted that this was not accurate.

The Act was introduced to combat alleged electoral malpractice, including personation and the abuse of postal votes.

All the major parties supported it, except Sinn Fein, who have strongly criticised what they called the "disenfranchising" of a significant proportion of the electorate.

We have put in a major effort at grass roots level - we are happier than we were, but the changes will affect parties across the board and some parties will be looking at the figures with a certain amount of panic Sinn Fein spokesman

Under the old system of household registration, one form was completed per home, by the head of the family usually, and this form included the name of every individual entitled to vote at that address.

Now each voter has to complete a form personally each year.

The expected shortfall of voters comes from comparing the new register to the latest Northern Ireland census in 2001, which is considered as accurate as possible.

New system

Young people, especially first time voters, are expected to be particularly under-represented on the register.

Other reasons for the decline are said to be apathy, wariness of filling in personal data such as national insurance numbers, and the moving away of young people whose names were included by a parent.

Chief Electoral Officer has appealed for people to come forward

A Sinn Fein spokesman said the new system, which they criticised as "politically motivated", made it more difficult for people to register.

"We have put in a major effort at grass roots level. We are happier than we were, but the changes will affect parties across the board and some parties will be looking at the figures with a certain amount of panic."

He said they had conducted research ward by ward in certain constituencies and found that areas of multiple deprivation, both Catholic and Protestant, had suffered most from under-registration.

Poll clerk

PUP spokesman David Ervine said all parties would be hit by the decline in registration, but he did not feel his party would be particularly affected.

"I'm concerned for democracy's sake, not for any individual party's sake, because I think it hits right across the board. There's been a huge amount of publicity, but it has not got through where it needed to."

He said a lot of people had also come to the PUP worried about what the ID they would need to get a vote at polling stations.

It is thought 10% of households did not return forms

The Chief Electoral Officer, Dennis Stanley, has appealed for people to come forward to help run polling stations on 26 November.

"We currently have gaps in our presiding officer and poll clerk requirements. We are very keen for people to come forward and offer their services to their local community on the day."

Areas of particular concern are Dungannon in County Tyrone, Warrenpoint-Newry in County Down and parts of County Antrim, but they hoped more help would come forward as the election approached.