As councils across the country call for a law to be scrapped which forces them to hand over voters' personal details to junk mail companies, Cheshire East Council has confirmed that they have received only a handful of requests to purchase the data.
Two versions of the electoral roll are produced each year - a full version and an open one. The details of everyone entitled to vote appears on the full register. This version is not for sale to businesses.
The Open Register, which can be sold to any person or individual, includes names and addresses of every person who does not opt-out.
Local authorities are legally obliged to sell the details on to anyone who asks for them and the details can be bought for less than 50p per individual.
The Local Government Association, which represents councils in England and Wales, is warning that the practice could be fuelling a junk mail bonanza and hampering efforts to get people to vote.
The organisation says that hundreds of requests for information from this register are made to councils every year from organisations including marketing firms and estate agents.
Following a request for information from Cheshire East Council, they confirmed that from 2011 through to and including 2014 so far, they had received just 10 requests to purchase parts of the Open Register. The total of these 10 sales was £509.
Council's recently wrote to electors to inform them that the way you register to vote has changed. Previously the head of a household was responsible for registering everyone who lives there but from 10th June, people will register as individuals instead, using the new Individual Electoral Registration (IER) system.
Most people who are already registered to vote are being moved onto the new system automatically. So you may not need to do anything. The letters sent tell voters whether they've been moved automatically, or whether they need to register on the new system.
The Local Government Association says that the recent changes to voter registration have led to a fresh wave of confusion with residents incorrectly believing that their details may now be added to the open electoral register even if they have previously opted out.
A spokesperson from Cheshire East Council said "Legislation provides that an elector is included in the Open Register, unless they notify us that they do not wish their name to be included in that version of the Register. This is not a recent change but has been the requirement for several years.
"However, prior to the introduction of the new system of registration called ' Individual Electoral Registration', on 10 June 2014, electors were required to make their opt out choice on an annual basis. This has changed under Individual Electoral Registration in that now when an elector notifies us that they wish to opt out of appearing on the Open Register, their choice will continue indefinitely unless and until they either complete a new application to register because of a change in their address, or they notify us of their wish to change their preference.
"The requirement to opt out rather than opt in is required by legislation rather than it being a Cheshire East policy."
The Open Register was introduced in 2002 under amendments to the Representation of the People Act. There are no restrictions on the sale of the open register or on the uses that can be made of it. The Electoral Registration Officer must supply a copy of it to any person on payment of a fee.
The Open Register is compiled and maintained by the Electoral Registration Officer for Cheshire East Council. Residents can remove their name from the list, so your details are not sold on to a third party, by emailing [email protected].
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