New Clause 3 Absent and overseas voters
Electoral Administration Bill
12:30 pm
Harriet Harman (Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs; Camberwell and Peckham, Labour)
The hon. Lady anticipates my response. I cannot offer to accept the new clause, but the points that lie behind it are well made. I said earlier that we want to ensure that as many people as possible register to vote and participate in voting, including overseas voters, crucially servicemen and women. Although we cannot accept the new clause, there is more that can and should be done. The Bill has thrown light on many areas in which people are inadvertently being disfranchised, either because of the time it takes to vote or by not being on the register. We will need to look at the matter further.