76 per cent of University of Sheffield students are registered to vote

The proportion of Sheffield students registered to vote has risen to 76% of the student population.

With government funding, the University was the first to pilot a new scheme whereby registering to vote has been integrated into the registration process for new students.

The scheme was first introduced as a reaction to changes in 2015 which meant that voters had to register individually rather than as a household. It has since proved successful, with the proportion of student voters having risen to an impressive 76%, in comparison to Sheffield Hallam, who simply point their students to the relevant website and have just 13% of their students registered.

Sheffield’s success has encouraged other universities to follow suit: De Montfort now offer the choice of registering to vote via the university intranet, and Sheffield Hallam are planning to offer the option to register to vote as part of their enrolment this coming September. Particularly in Sheffield, the student vote is expected to have a significant impact; the Sheffield Central constituency currently has more students than any other in the country.

As well as being prompted to register as part of the enrolment process, Sheffield students are also being reminded to vote by their tutors and lecturers. Members of staff have taken to emailing their department in order to inspire last minute registrations.

President of the Students’ Union Dominic Trendall has stated: “As a Students’ Union, we are really proud to have been part of the effort to ensure that the voices of students are heard in Sheffield.

“Students do want to engage with the community and with the democratic process and it is so important that we break down artificial barriers to participation in elections.”

Students should be reminded that the last day to register to vote is the 22nd May and those who want to vote at their home constituencies via postal vote should apply by the 23rd May.