6 months ago
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Image source, AFP
By Lauren Potts & Jennifer Clarke
BBC News
People need to show photo ID at polling stations when they vote in the local elections on Thursday 2 May.
Thousands of people were unable to vote in the 2023 local elections because they did not have the correct ID.
What elections are taking place on Thursday 2 May?
Elections are taking place in 107 local authorities across England.
Voters will also choose the Mayor of London, London Assembly members and 10 other mayors.
In addition, voters across England and Wales will elect 37 police and crime commissioners (PCCs).
A by-election will select the new MP for Blackpool South, after the resignation of former Conservative MP Scott Benton.
No elections are being held in Scotland or Northern Ireland.
What are the voter ID rules?
Since May 2023, voters have had to show a valid form of photo ID at polling stations to vote in person at most elections.
- all local elections in England, including those for mayors and the London Assembly
- all local referendums and parliamentary by-elections in England
- police and crime commissioner elections in England and Wales
- UK general elections
There is no need to show ID if voting:
- by post
- for the Scottish or Welsh Parliament
- in local elections in Scotland or Wales
Voters in Northern Ireland have had to show photo ID or since 2003.
What documents can you use as photo ID?
- passports
- driving licences
- Older or Disabled Person's bus passes
- Oyster 60+ cards
You can use out-of-date photo ID as long as you look the same.
If you wear a face covering, such as a medical mask or a veil worn on religious grounds, you will be asked to remove it briefly so polling station staff can check your ID looks like you.
What if you don't have an acceptable form of ID?
You can exchange a paper driving licence for a photocard, or apply for a photocard travel pass if you're aged 60 or over, disabled, or registered blind or partially sighted.
Alternatively, anyone registered to vote without the correct ID - or who no longer looks like their photo - can apply for a free document known as a Voter Authority Certificate.
However, it is too late to get a certificate before the 2 May local elections.
Voters in Northern Ireland can use the Electoral Identity Card.
What happens if you cannot show valid ID at the polling station?
If you go to the polling station on Thursday 2 May without the correct ID, you will be asked to come back with valid documentation.
If you think your ID has been wrongly rejected, the Electoral Commission says you should notify the presiding officer at the polling station. If this does not resolve the issue, you can raise your concerns with your council's returning officer.
Polling station staff record how many voters are turned away, as well as the number who return with valid ID.
But it says the true figure could be higher because some might have left after reading the ID requirements, without being formally recorded.
The commission said that unemployed voters and those belonging to ethnic minorities were more likely to have been turned away.
Why do voters need photo ID?
The government said it would stop votes being stolen, although this is quite unusual in the UK.
There were 1,462 cases of alleged electoral fraud reported to police between 2019 and 2023, according to the Electoral Commission.
Of these, 10 led to convictions and the police issued four cautions. Most resulted in the police taking no further action.
A total of 342 cases of alleged electoral fraud were investigated by the police during 2023. One case resulted in a conviction.
The commission said in the past five years there had been "no evidence of large-scale electoral fraud", although some Conservative MPs claim the statistics underplay the issue.
Are there concerns about photo ID at the general election?
Two reports have highlighted the potential impact of photo ID on the next UK general election, which must be held before 28 January 2025.
Electoral administrators surveyed by the Local Government Information Unit (LGIU) warned they would have too few staff to check valid ID and produce Voter Authority Certificates.
The Local Government Association warned that council election teams relied on help from areas without elections in May 2023, which would not be possible at a general election.
The Electoral Commission has called on the government to expand the list of accepted ID and to allow voters to cast their ballot without ID if another registered voter could vouch for their identity.
