The Electoral Commission has disclosed that approximately 14,000 individuals were unable to cast their votes in England’s recent local elections due to the newly implemented photo ID requirement.
This revelation comes from the independent body responsible for overseeing elections in the country.
The local elections held in May marked the first time voters were required to present acceptable forms of photo identification before receiving their ballot papers at polling stations. Permitted IDs included passports, driving licenses, blue badges, and free certificates that could be obtained prior to the vote.
Craig Westwood, the Director of Communications at the Electoral Commission, expressed concern over evidence suggesting that disabled and unemployed individuals were more likely to cite ID-related reasons for abstaining from voting. The Commission’s findings indicated a correlation between the number of individuals turned away and certain socio-demographic factors such as ethnicity and unemployment.
In response to the data, the watchdog is calling for efforts to ensure that elections remain accessible to all members of the public.
The ID policy is set to be extended to cover UK general elections starting in autumn, making it likely to be a requirement for the next Westminster election, scheduled for 2024.
Last month, former cabinet minister Jacob Rees-Mogg made comments suggesting that the introduction of voter ID was an attempt at “gerrymandering” that backfired against the Conservative Party.
Research conducted by the Electoral Commission revealed that 0.7% of individuals were initially turned away from polling stations in May, but about two-thirds of them returned later in the day and were able to vote. This indicates that approximately 14,000 voters, constituting 0.25%, who visited polling stations were unable to vote due to their inability to provide ID.
Among those recorded as being denied access to a polling station, 70% did not bring any ID, while 30% presented an ID type that was not accepted.
According to the commission’s analysis, there was a “very high awareness” of the requirement to produce photo identification, with over half of the population being aware of the availability of free IDs in the form of government-issued voter authority certificates. Close to 90,000 people applied for a voter authority certificate before the deadline, and 81,033 certificates were issued prior to the local elections. However, only 25,000 of these certificates were used as a form of ID on election day.
The full election report is set to be published by the Commission in September.
