Voters ID rules stopped over 10,000 from having their say, watchdog finds

Around 14,000 people were prevented from voting because they could not show an accepted form of photo ID during England’s local elections, according to the Electoral Commission.

The interim study by the Electoral Commission also warned of ‘concerning’ signs that voters with disabilities, people who are unemployed, or those from ethnic backgrounds could be disproportionality affected by the policy.

Experts also found that 4% of people who did not vote said it was because of voter ID – a tally that could run into hundreds of thousands more. The policy was rolled out for the first time in Britain in May’s elections.

Although the study found 14,000 people were denied access of having their political opinion voiced, the true figure is estimated to be higher as some of those who wanted to vote at polling stations might have been turned away after reading the requirements at the entrance but were not formally recorded, the Commission said.

The figures were also based on incomplete data received from 226 of the 230 councils where polls were held this year.

Although the total electorate and turnout for May’s elections have not yet been published, if they are similar to previous years, it could mean at least 400,000 people decided not to vote because of the new rules.

While a broader report in September will examine demographic factors, the commission said initial evidence suggested voter ID disproportionately affected people who have disabilities or are unemployed, with some correlation also apparent with factors such as ethnicity.

Craig Westwood, the commission, head of policy, said: ‘The evidence suggests that the vast majority of voters were able to present an accepted form of ID at the May elections.

‘But it also shows that some people were prevented from voting in polling stations due to the requirement, and significantly more did not attempt to because they lacked the required ID.

‘Overall awareness was high and achieved in a matter of months, but we can see that people who lacked ID were less likely to know they needed to show it.’

The commission plans to publish its full election report in September.

However, despite findings displaying that 14,000 people couldn’t participate in local elections, a spokesperson for the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities said it welcomed the report, ‘which shows that the vast majority of voters – 99.75% – were able to cast their vote successfully’.

They added: ‘These encouraging findings are also reflective of the confidence we always had in the ability of local authorities to implement these changes while continuing to deliver our elections robustly and securely.’  

Image: Arnaud Jaegers