to remind people to bring Voter ID.

We do get checked up on by the council staff who run the election. And also the election commission were checking on stations so if they weren't following things correctly then they would be told

I had to do training on the process run by our local council. Not sure if it's the same training as other places apart from what id is required etc. logistically we couldn't do it that way but it doesn't make a huge amount of sense to me. I'm not a decision maker though.

But you see how the process I and another poster encountered doesn't establish whether we're voting for ourselves or not?

Are you told what the process should be or does each polling station make it up themselves?

We are checking that you are voting for yourself and that you are not using your mum, uncle, neighbour's etc vote.

Same here, I noticed this. One person checked the ID (no idea what they were checking for) and the next person then finished dealing with someone and then asked me whether I'd had my ID checked. So I said "of course" (I'd put it away by now) and she then took my polling card and looked me up.

So... can any polling station worker answer me what the point of the ID check is? What are you actually checking?

We checked ID when people gave their cards/addresses. Out of date passports are fine as long as it looks like you. We averaged one person per minute, and there were times we had queues out the building. Often went like this:
Us "can we have the name of your road please"
Them "joe blogs"
"No your ROAD"
"Flat 30 Halloween mansions"
"NO YOUR ROAD"
"Oh 2000 Christmas Avenue"

🙄

At our polling station (and this happened both today and in the council elections in May) there is an official standing close to the entrance asking voters to show their ID. We then move over to a different and give our names and address/polling card whilst the ID lady carries on from where she left off with her conversation with her companion at the door.
There seems to be no connection between the ID part and the verbally giving name and address part. So I could be showing my ID but claiming to be somebody completely different when collecting my ballot paper. Is this the way it’s supposed to work or am I missing something?

Also a polite reminder to please vote them out 🙏

stopthetories.vote

They accepted dps ood passport that's 30 years old. It doesn't look like him 🤔

They accepted my out of date passport today. Because it looks like me. I took my polling card too. About half 11 this morning I was the only one there.

I don't know what you define as 'true democracy ' but see my BBC link above. It absolutely makes the process less democratic.

And people pretending to be someone else because all they need to verbally provide is a name and address is totally democratic..?

That BBC link isn't proof it makes it less democratic. People have had a year to get something sorted. Most of Europe, however, seems to suggest that voter ID works just fine and is not indicative of a less democratic process.

So far only two have forgotten, and only one did a proper flounce about it.

I don't see the problem with having to bring ID.We've had 2 do it for years in Northern Ireland.

I have a postal ballot now, but when i voted in person, I always took my polling card. It was no trouble for me and it helped the clerk find my address.

I went once without my polling card and they couldn't find my address on the list so I had to go home and get the polling card before I could vote. I could have stayed and insisted they kept searching but I lived quite close and knew the polling card would clear things up.

For some strange reason the lists had been split by odd and even house numbers.

Not nonsense at all, the polling clerk at my local station this morning said that it makes things easier.

Unless you've worked at a polling station, you're not in a position to say.

Oddly I do another job in other times. I do this because it's fun and on the whole people are lovely and cheery.

Do you work just one or two days every few years? 🤣

I don't know what you define as 'true democracy ' but see my BBC link above. It absolutely makes the process less democratic.

You don't HAVE to bring your polling card, and I will be honest I used not to. Until I started as a polling clarl. And realised that it's really time consuming when you have hundreds of addresses such as flat 500, block C, 1003 Voting grove, Democracy road, etc. not all stations have a split in the roll and a LOT of people don't know their exact address. So it's just helpful and considerate of you do. Especially if there's a long queue behind you. And it's after we've been sitting there for 10 hours!

I have to say though, it's a really lovely job. Just a super long day.

I disagree. I’ve never taken my polling card. I follow the sign to which table to go to based on my street. When I get there they ask which road I live in and my name, I tell them then they find me on the list and tick me off. Takes no longer than if I’d had my card.

Now I hate reform too, given Farage's views on Andrew Tate, Trump, Ukraine, etc, as well as his attitude to journalists and in debates.

HOWEVER.

These parties deserve a chance as much as the rest, even if they are run by a bunch of incapable twats. Sometimes shit needs to simply hit the fan so everyone can see it was a bad idea, the rest of us can say a collective "told you so" and then we move forward. However, with the UK's idea of democracy that will not happen anytime soon. Remember UKIP during the last election? More votes than the SNP, but only two seats in parliament.

I live in a Tory stronghold but during the last local election almost the entire local council became Labour. However, when you look at the proportional votes rather than by ward, the Tories actually received more votes than Labour. It's depressing because it is not remotely representative of the electorate's choice. Therefore it's not democratic.

Please go and vote. Whether that means actually voting, voting tactically, or spoiling your ballot if you feel politically homeless.

Because its a threat to our democracy, which we should not take for granted.

The UK is not a true democracy. And even in true democracies voter ID is required (which in the UK is free to apply for).

And before you argue that this will reduce votes for parties like Reform, please don't. Just look at the recent results in countries like The Netherlands (true democracy) and France (a step closer to true democracy vs UK), where we see a clear swing to the right and populist parties gaining significant ground despite the need for ID.

Don't worry about this - my entire estate haven't even received polling cards yet