Previously all students in the UK were automatically registered to vote, as was the case when I was an undergraduate at Sussex University.
Last year however, the government has decided that this should not be the case, and that all students must now to register to vote, a process made more difficult by requiring a National Insurance Number, which is not always too easy to find. Even though this only takes about five minutes, in the run up to exam season students have got a lot of things to remember already without the need for this formerly automated process.
As historically the student vote has always leant to the Left, one could be forgiven for thinking that this was a deliberate ploy to disenfranchise a large section of the electorate that would probably vote Red or Green,... or is that just Conspiracy madness?
The people that I spoke to who were registered to vote assured me they would most certainly be voting for Caroline, which was great.
Unfortunately, the majority I spoke to were not registered, and despite our encouragement and advice, seem unlikely to do so. Figures show less than a third of students in Brighton are registered, which is abysmal.
Still, there is over a month left before registration closes on April 20th, which is plenty of time, and hopefully the televised debates might enliven folk into motion.
dont be a donut, register here
https://www.gov.uk/register-to-vote
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