Surge in voter-registration expected before Britain's EU referendum

A record numbers of people were on Tuesday expected to sign up for voting in the European Union (EU) referendum before a midnight deadline for registrations.

The Electoral Commission said it was prepared for a surge in registrations, particularly from youngsters, after figures for Monday showed the second biggest day for registrations since the system went online, the Guardian reported.

The commission has warned millions of unregistered voters that applications will not be accepted beyond the deadline.

"This really is your last chance. If you aren't already registered to vote, you need to do it by the June 7 deadline or you won't be able to take part in this historic referendum," Jenny Watson, chief counting officer for the EU referendum, said.

An estimated 7.5 million people or 15 percent of the electorate had failed to register at the start of the campaign. Since then 1.5 million people have applied to vote, after a registration drive from which the remain campaign stands most to gain.

Pollsters pointed out that young people were twice as likely to vote to remain in the EU -- but under-25s are only half as likely to vote as over-65s.

On Monday, 226,000 people registered, including 150,000 under-35s. That was second only to last year's deadline day for the general election, when 469,000 people registered to vote.

The referendum is slated to take place on June 23.

--IANS

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