‘Voter suppression’: Government under fire over plans to make photo ID compulsory

The government has been accused of “voter suppression” after revealing plans to make photo ID compulsory when voting.

Boris Johnson wants to tighten the rules around casting ballots, with voters needing to show an “approved form of photographic ID” when turning up to polling stations.

Under plans being proposed by the government, a passport or driver’s licence featuring a photograph will need to be produced in order to vote.

Those who do not have such documents will be able to apply for free for a local electoral identity document to avoid being disenfranchised, ministers have said.

Extra burdens will also be placed on postal voters, requiring them to reapply every three years to cast their ballot in this fashion.

Currently, voters on the electoral register simply have to turn up at their nearest polling station to vote.

The move has sparked a backlash, with Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn branding it a “blatant attempt by the Tories to rig the result of the next general election”.

Lib Dem MP Tom Brake, the party’s shadow minister for the Cabinet Office, said it was a “thinly-veiled attempt to rig the results of future elections”.

“Boris Johnson is clearly taking a leaf out of Trump’s playbook by using false claims about voter fraud to suppress turnout,” he said.

Mr Corbyn’s predecessor Ed Miliband joined the criticism on Monday, saying the prime minister has not offered “any evidence” that there is an issue with the integrity of voting.

“Photo ID to vote without any evidence of a problem such an obvious US voter suppression move,” he wrote on Twitter.

“Plus, in small print of briefing document making people re-apply for postal votes every three years… more bureaucracy to disenfranchise more people, particularly older voters.”

The Electoral Commission has carried out a number of studies into the issue and says it found that the UK’s voting system is “vulnerable to fraud”.

In pilot schemes run by the commission in 2018 and 2019, less than 1% of eligible voters showed up without their IDs and then failed to return, according to a paper published on the findings.

A commission spokesman said: “As we have highlighted, the government should ensure that any ID requirements set out in the bill allow for alternatives to photo ID, for those who do not already have this.

“This will ensure voting at polling stations remains accessible. We await further detail of the government’s proposed bill.”

The Electoral Reform Society has voiced concerns about the plans.

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It noted that its research indicated there were only eight allegations of impersonation made out of the millions of ballots cast at elections in 2018.

Chief executive Darren Hughes said 3.5 million voters did not have a photo ID, making them vulnerable to being unable to vote.

“When millions of people lack photo ID, these mooted plans risk raising the drawbridge to huge numbers of marginalised voters – including many elderly and BAME (black, Asian and minority ethnic) voters,” he said.

According to the ERS, the scheme would cost as much as £20m per election to enforce, adding to the estimated £140m cost to the taxpayer of an election.

(c) Sky News 2019: ‘Voter suppression’: Government under fire over plans to make photo ID compulsory