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Voter registration is the requirement in some Democracies for Citizen s to check in with some central registry before being allowed to Vote in Election s. An effort to get people to register is known as a Voter Registration Drive . CENTRALIZED VS. OPT-IN In some countries, registration is the responsibility of the government, either local or national. In many others, however, citizens must "opt in" to voting, generally by filling out a specific form registering them to vote. Governments registering people has been shown to be one of the most powerful predictors of high voting turnout levels. Even in countries where registration is the individual's responsibility, many reformers, seeking to maximize voter turnout, have pushed for wider availability of the required forms; one such effort in the United States led to the passage of the Motor Voter laws, which required states to offer to register people when the people came in for a Driver's Licence . EFFECTS AND CONTROVERSY Laws requiring individual voters to register, as opposed to having the government register people automatically, have a strong , Maine , Wisconsin , New Hampshire , Wyoming , and Idaho . In these states, one type of Voter Intimidation is to inform people falsely that registration is closed. UNITED KINGDOM In the UK voter registration is by law compulsory (when asked to do so), though this is rarely actually enforced. It is not compulsory to vote however. Voters must be on the Electoral Roll in order to vote in national, local or European elections. A voting card is sent to each registrant shortly before any elections which is used as proof that you are registered when voting. The current system of registration, introduced by the Labour Government is known as Rolling Registration whereby electors can register with a Local Authority at any time of the year. This replaced the twice-yearly census of electors which often disenfranchised those who had moved house in-between surveys. Following an experiment in Northern Ireland using personal identifiers, such as National Insurance numbers and signatures, the number of registered electors fell by some ten thousand; it is understood that this may have taken off the electoral roll fictitious voters. The system of individual registration used in Northern Ireland may be piloted in Great Britain if the recently introduced Electoral Administration Bill is made into law in time for the local elections in 2006 . Across the country, the registration of electors is still technically the responsibility of the 'head of the household', a concept seen by some as being somewhat out of step with modern society. This current system is controversial as it is possible for one person to delete people who may live with them from the electoral roll. AUSTRALIA The Australian Electoral Commission administers Australia's federal electoral roll. Each state also has its own electoral commission or office, but voters need only register with the AEC , which passes the registration details to relevant state commissions. Voter Registration is mandatory for all citizens 18 years of age or above. An individual has 8 weeks after turning 18 to register. Similarly, if a change of address causes an individual to move to another electorate (Electoral Division) they are legally obliged to notify the Electoral Commission within 8 weeks. In Australia, details of house and apartment sales are in the public domain. The Electoral Commission monitors these and sends a remainder (and the forms) to new residents in case they have moved to another electorate, making compliance with the law much easier. Periodically the Electoral Commission conducts door-to-door and postal campaigns to try to ensure that all eligible persons are registered in the correct electorate. The one registration covers Federal, State and Local voter registration. In Australia it is a legal offence to fail to vote (or at the very least, attend a polling station and have one's name crossed off the roll) at any Federal or State election, punishable by a fine. The amount of the fine varies between federal and various state elections. Usually people are issued with warnings when it is found that they have not voted, and they are given an opportunity to show cause for not voting. Acceptable reasons for not voting may include: being in the Accident Department of a Hospital, being ill (requires confirmation), being out of the country on election day, being incarcerated etc. ''I forgot'' is not considered acceptable and will incur a fine. Voting is voluntary in local council elections. Traditionally voters cannot register within three weeks of an election, but in 2004 the Howard Government passed legislation that prevents registration after an election has been announced. This legislation has been considered as controversial by some Australians who contend it disenfranchises those who have forgotten to register or provide a change of address. To ameliorate this concern, the Electoral Commission conducts public awareness advertising on the need to register when they consider an election announcement is likely. CANADA In Canada , the task of enumeration was handled by the relevant elections bureau such as Elections Canada for the federal level until 1992 . Until that time, the task as delegated to temporary employees from the public who were charged with going to each residence in assigned areas to determine the eligible voters for a publicly displayed list for each election. However, this system was discontinued for fiscal reasons in the 1990s in favor of an opt-in option where voters mark their consent to be added the national voters list on their annual Income Tax Return s. Although this allows the list to be updated annually, there are still complaints of excessive numbers of omissions which needlessly complicates voting for the public and is contributing to a serious decline in the percentage of the population who votes. SEE ALSO EXTERNAL LINKS
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