Second home voters may have to "opt in" to be on Cornwall's register

One of the most significant developments in recent years in the debate about Cornwall's second home voters has just been posted on Cornwall Council's website, in the form of a legal opinion from James Findlay QC. His advice has prompted this recommendation from Cornwall's election officials:

"That the Electoral Service adopt a procedure whereby all applicants for electoral registration who reside in a property where Council Tax second home rebate has been claimed are requested to supply further information in accordance with a Type B Review before registration is permitted or refused."

Officials also suggest that applicants who fail to provide the additional information within 28 days be refused electoral registration. Last year's data matching exercise, which compared the electoral register with the separate register of second home owners who claim council tax discount, resulted in a purge of 947 potential voters. The proposed abolition of the council tax discount in Cornwall (as blogged earlier today) raises separate questions about how second home owners might be identified....