Young and poorer people in Northern Ireland have been hit hardest by measures aimed at tackling electoral fraud, according to a report published on Tuesday.

The Electoral Commission found the changes imposed under the Electoral Fraud Act 2002 deterred people from disadvantaged groups and hard-to-reach areas from registering to vote.

Since the passing of the act, one form is given to every individual, rather than to each household, meaning that young people, those with learning difficulties and those in poorer areas were less likely to vote, according to the study.

Although Northern Ireland's chief electoral officer has suggested that aspects of the old system could be reinstated - such as some names being "carried over" on the register for a year - the commission said it was unconvinced this would work.

The report also recommended a review of the new special hearings procedure, unique to Ulster, which requires those wishing to be added to the electoral register to attend such hearings.

Less than half actually turned up, suggesting they were put off by its "semi-judicial nature", it concluded.

The head of the Electoral Commission in Northern Ireland, Seamus Magee, said that a survey of voters found that 70 per cent believed the new measures had instilled greater confidence in the democratic process.

But he added that there were "some negatives" to overcome.

"One of those is that the individual registration has tended to make it more difficult for young people in particular and for people with disabilities to register," he said.

"The challenge that we have is to address those particular issues - to ensure the registration rate, which is currently around 88 per cent, is up as close into the 90s as we can."

"The new system that is in place - and the register published for the last election - is a very sound, a very robust register," he added.

"Albeit, it doesn't contain all those who are eligible to vote in Northern Ireland. To actually carry forward - as was the old system - and inflate the register is not possibly the best way to go."