A photographic identity card is to be introduced in a bid to combat electoral fraud in Northern Ireland.
Northern Ireland Office Minister Mr Des Browne unveiled the initiative which will form part of the Electoral Fraud Act 2002, at Parliament Buildings, Stormont last night.
He said: "The Electoral Fraud Act 2002 makes radical changes to the registration process by requiring people to sign their canvass or application form and to provide their date of birth and national insurance number."
Mr Browne said the additional personal information would not appear on the public version of the register, but will be used at the Electoral Office to make checks against the names of electors when they apply for an absent vote and to track multiple voters.
He said: "Absent voting practices arguably provide a greater opportunity for vote stealing, because there is a less stringent requirement to prove one's identity when applying for an absent vote than there is at the ballot box.
"The Act combats this problem by requiring absent vote applications to be signed and to state an applicant's date of birth and national insurance number. These must correspond with the information which the elector provided to the Chief Electoral Officer on registration."
PA