More than one million people submitted Register to Vote applications in the last week ahead of the final cut off date before the general election.
The Department for Levelling Up received 1,028,017 Register to Vote applications between the 11th and 17th of June.
Comparably, across the same week in May, just shy of 57,000 applications were submitted.
There has been a dramatic increase in registrations ahead of the deadline for voters to be added to the electoral roll before the general election.
People who do not register by 11:59 pm on Tuesday will be unable to cast their vote in the nationwide poll on the 4th July.
The 13th June saw the highest number of new applications received with over 330,000 online and paper forms submitted in a single day.
Coincidentally, the date also marked the second seven-party television debate of the election campaign so far.
Hosted by ITV, representatives from the Labour party, Conservatives, SNP, Plaid Cymru, Green Party, Liberal Democrats and Reform UK faced questions across key policy areas.
The majority of Register to Vote submissions made over the past week have been issued by applicants aged under 35.
The lowest uptake in new applications was made by people aged over 75, with just 2.26% of recent applications made by individuals in this age category.
People aged 34 and below submitted over 570,000 Register to Vote applications in the last week, which equates to roughly 56% of the total submissions.
A similar trend of young people making last minute registrations was observed during the local elections earlier this year.
On April 16th, the deadline for local election registrations, 153, 614 applications were made.
The vast majority, 74%, were made by voters aged 34 and below.
With just over two weeks until voters head to the polls, parties have already unveiled pivotal manifesto pledges set to affect young people.
The Conservatives have pledged to introduce a “bold new model” of mandatory national service.
The scheme would mean 18-year-olds would be required to either apply for a full-time military placement or conduct compulsory volunteer work for one weekend a month over a twelve month period.
Elsewhere, the Labour Party has pledged to give those aged over 16 the right to vote and invest more in youth workers and young people’s mental health.
The Liberal Democrats have also promised to lower the voting age to 16 and to toughen climate targets with a goal to reach net zero by 2045.
Among younger voters, Labour is leading in the polls.
YouGov voter intention data from the 13th June suggests Sir Keir Starmer’s party could scoop over 40% of the 18-24 year old vote.
Across the same age category, 22% of those polled said they intend to vote for the Liberal Democrats.
According to the poll, the Conservatives hold just 7% of the youth vote, behind Reform UK which has seen a recent increase to 15%.
Featured image credit: Unsplash
