How is the national electoral register created?

Republic of Nauru, Electoral Act, No. 15 of 2016 (including all the amendments as of August 2022), accessed 28 August 2022

37. Roll of voters

(1) There is a Roll of voters to be kept by the Electoral Commission that contains the name of all voters. [subs (1) am Act 18 of 2021 s 21, opn 14 Sep 2021]

(2) The Roll is classified into Districts with each voter’s name entered into the District the voter has registered in under Section 39 or 45.

(3) The Roll is to be updated from time to time following consultations between the Electoral Commission and the Registrar for Births, Deaths and Marriages. [subs (3) am Act 18 of 2021 s 21, opn 14 Sep 2021]

38. Qualification for automatic registration of voters

Subject to the provisions of the Constitution and of this Act, a person is qualified to be automatically registered as a voter if he or she has attained the age of 20 years and is a Nauruan citizen.

39. Automatic registration of voters

(1) A person who is registered in the Register for Births at the office of the Registrar of Births, Deaths and Marriages is, upon attaining the age of 20, automatically entered into the Roll of voters maintained under Section 37.

(2) Every person is entitled to have his or her name in the Roll for the District for which he or she is registered under Section 9 of the Births, Deaths and Marriages Registration Act 2017. [subs (2) subst Act 6 of 2019 s 5, opn 10 May 2019]

(3) It is the duty of the Registrar for Births, Deaths and Marriages, consistent with Section 37(3), to advise and provide for the benefit of the Electoral Commissioner, such information, data and material to give full effect to subsection (1) to enable the updating of the Roll. […]

The Electoral Commission is generally responsible for registration of voters. However, it works closely with the Registrar for Births, Deaths and Marriages in order to update the register. In addition, a person who is registered in the Register for Births at the office of the Registrar of Births, Deaths and Marriages is, upon attaining the age of twenty, automatically entered into the voter register.