Sian Gwenllian MS, Cabinet Minister for Local Government, Housing and Planning
The Welsh Government is committed to strengthening democracy in Wales. Following the success of the Automatic Voter Registration (AVR) pilots held in Carmarthenshire, Gwynedd, Newport and Powys last year and an evaluation by the Electoral Commission, I have today laid regulations to allow for the roll out AVR across Wales ahead of the 2027 Local Government elections. As part of this, Local Authorities will undertake data-matching exercises to identify potential electors, notify them of the process and their right to opt out, and add them to the local government register.Subject to the will of the Senedd, these regulations will come into force in the Autumn.
I would like to thank the Electoral Commission, the Association of Electoral Administrators and Electoral Registration Officers and their teams for their help to date in developing AVR in Wales. I am grateful in advance for their continued co-operation as we prepare to implement it across all Welsh local authorities.
The Welsh Government will continue to work with the electoral community and provide it with the support necessary as this work proceeds at pace, to ensure it is delivered carefully and effectively. We will also continue discussions with the UK Government on its plans to move towards registration without application, while seeking to minimise divergence wherever possible.
Wales is leading the way on AVR in the UK. These regulations will help improve both the accuracy and completeness of the local government electoral register, an important step towards strengthening our democracy.