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Deputy prime minister Nick Clegg will today set out plans to get millions of "missing" voters to register on the electoral roll.
Delivering a speech in Westminster, the Liberal Democrat leader will say that local authorities are to be given the power to compare the electoral roll with other publicly available databases in order to try to identify the "missing millions" who fail to register.
Addressing the Political Studies Association and the Hansard Society, Clegg will say that pilot "data-matching schemes" will start from next year and will be rolled out across the country if they prove a success.
He is expected to say: "It is not good enough to simply ignore the millions who aren't registered, especially when you look more closely at where the problem is worst: among the young; among black and ethnic minority communities; in areas with high social deprivation.
"The coalition government is clear: these missing millions must be given back their voice.
"There is no magic wand solution; but, equally, there is no excuse for inaction."
Clegg will also use his speech to highlight the government's plans for more frequent reviews of electoral boundaries.
The new system will aim to tackle electoral fraud by speeding up the introduction of individual registration and not as part of a household.
The introduction of individual voter registration will be brought forward to 2014, in time for the next general election.
He will say: "People must have confidence in the system and know that it is secure against fraud."
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