---

Northern Ireland (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill

Individuals are allowed to register as normal, with the usual registration qualifications—the three tests, with which the hon. Gentleman is familiar. There will be no change to that, except that they will be able to register up to 11 days before the election. When an election is called and candidates such as the hon. Gentleman or I knock on doors to ask, ““Will you vote for us?”” people often say that they are not on the register. Now, up to 11 days before the election, they can be on the register. That will assist the process. However, reducing the postal vote deadline from the present 14 days to 11 days would, in the view of the chief electoral officer, allow the potential for fraud. I bow to his advice on the matter. As I said earlier, we are anxious to maintain the integrity of the register. We propose a method of maximising participation while maintaining integrity.