NI election 2022: Schools asked to urge over-18s to register to vote

The deadline to register to vote in the election is 14 April

The chief electoral officer has written to schools in Northern Ireland asking them to encourage pupils aged 18 to register to vote in next month's assembly election.

Virginia McVea told them registration levels among young people are relatively low.

In spite of this, almost 1.4m people are already on the electoral register ahead of polling day on 5 May.

The deadline to register to vote in the election is 14 April.

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In her letter to schools, Ms McVea wrote: "Levels of registration for our young people in Northern Ireland is low and we are now tracking applications by school as a result of new data we can access.

"I hope that you can encourage our young people to engage and play their part in the democratic process, understanding that this is truly an overarching priority for this jurisdiction, indeed the world."

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Ms McVea said the electoral office was also working with those young people not in education or work, encouraging them to register.

In an interview with BBC News NI she said she was pleased that so many people, of all ages, had registered already.

She said: "The register has never looked so good.

"We are just edging towards 1.4m people who are registered to vote in Northern Ireland."