JUST when you think you have seen the very worst this ‘government’ can do (destruction of economy, crumbling public services, failed Brexit, dodgy PPE contracts, endless corruption, raw sewage in our waterways and the horrific death toll from the COVID pandemic), they spring another anti-democratic law on us: photo ID for those voting in person at polling stations.
The Elections Act 2022 which came in to force last April, means that our local elections in May will be subject to this law: show up without photo ID and you will not be able to vote at a polling station.
And the reason for this? The scaremongering that the country is in the grip of wide scale electoral fraud.
According to data from The Electoral Commission, there are small scale allegations of electoral anomalies, mainly to do with how electoral literature omits necessary information (such as who publishes election material) but in 2017 and in 2019 for example, there was just one prosecution each of those years. Hardly widespread voter fraud.
What is more worrying is that the number of people who could potentially fall foul of the new law for in-person voting, is immense. There are almost 20 million people NOT on the Electoral Roll. Around three million people do not have photo ID (7.5% of the electorate).
And who are those less likely to have photo ID? Women. Those living in urban areas. People under 20 or over 65 who are less likely to hold a driving licence (for example since the 1990s, possession of a driving licence has dropped by 40% particularly among younger people)
It is also not a given that everyone has a passport.
So what are acceptable forms of photo ID?
- Older Person’s Bus Pass
- Disabled Person’s Bus Pass
- Oyster 60+ Card
- Freedom Pass
But a young person’s travel card is not acceptable. A National Proof of Age Standards card (PASS) is but again not every young person has this. So could be disenfranchised.
Add to the mix the fact that at the moment, just 37% of voters know that they will legally be required to present photo ID at the next election.
Given that the electoral turnout at the last local elections in South Norfolk was around 30-35%, it is a sorry state of affairs that of those who bother to turn out, some could actually get turned away from polling stations.
The Police and Crime Commissioner for Norfolk admitted to not knowing the actual number of electoral fraud prosecutions in the county.
So I told him. Zero.
Bringing in The Elections Act 2022 was a clear instance of voter suppression. It seeks to disenfranchise whole swathes of people for not having photo ID, under the guise that voter fraud is rampant.
There are many, many things I dislike this ‘government’ for. You can add voter suppression to that very long list.
Trying to deny people their fundamental right to vote is the single most undemocratic thing they could have done
And we should all be damned angry about it.
*If you have no valid form of photo ID, you can apply for a postal vote from your local authority or for a voter authority certificate. Click the link to find out more:
https://www.electoralcommission.org.uk/i-am-a/voter/voter-id/applying-a-voter-authority-certificate
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