How come we don't have to prove our identity to vote?

[user476t58]

I rocked up at my polling station after work without my polling card as I'd left it at home. I was just asked my address & given my voting paper. They weren't interested in seeing any ID. There's so much scope for cheating without any checks..

All the evidence shows that voter fraud is very, very, very low.

Measures to introduce voter ID lead to people being disenfranchised. This is often weaponised by authoritarian governments.

Aren't the tories trying to change it so voters will need ID ?

If you noticed, they would have crossed your name off as having already voted, so if someone has tried to lie about their identity then there is a chance it would be found.

However, mainly what pointythings says.

Voter fraud is really, really tiny.

It's just not something that criminals have a lot of interest in.

What's more dangerous is adding hoops requiring passports or something that prevent people from voting - we need more people using their vote.

You do (or at least used to) need id to vote in N I.

I had to show my drivers license in NI

You need ID in NI. Stops the "vote early vote often" that used to happen

The most marginalised in our society are those least likely to have the right ID. To have proof of address you need an address which you pay bills at. For photo ID you need something expensive like a passport or driving licence and generally need to prove your ID by having multiple forms of proof of address which brings us back to the first point.

I have dual US and UK citizenship. When I have voted in person in the USA, I have to write my signature next to my name and address for my voting ward (I’ve always taken in the postcard sent in the mail stating the date and address of my polling station).

My signature is then compared with the docket I signed when I previously registered to vote. (This is in New Jersey - I don’t know about other US States)

I think something similar should be done in the UK elections too - and if someone is illiterate and unable to sign their name then a fingerprint should suffice.

I also think that there should be a better system in place for postal votes to prevent fraud.

One thing which has occurred to me; is it possible for students to be able to vote twice - at their term time address and their usual place of residence?

It’s thought to be low because there’s no way to measure whether it is happening or not when no one is checking the voters identities. They only investigate if they’re tipped off by a member of the public sending in an allegation of voter fraud. Usually these are allegations of things like voting twice. So in reality the U.K. has no idea how much voter fraud is happening.

Im with you OP. It’s madness. And the only people actually disenfranchised would be those with no right to vote anyway.

You will have to show ID in future elections. It means that a number of individuals won't be able to vote because - for a variety of valid reasons - they don't have a photo ID. Voter fraud is a really minimal issue in the UK but I bet you can guess which party people without ID, and therefore who will be unable to vote in future, are more likely to support.

Yes they are because it will disproportionately advantage them. Research has found it’s more likely to be labour voters who don’t already have passports or driving licenses and may well not bother sorting out an ID card if they’re introduced.

wanker Tories. Plus if they get their way and this is introduced we will all pay for it as the Tories have said the ID card will be free for people who want it. So our taxes will fund it.

According to the Government webpage, the legislation will require that local authorities issue Free Voter Cards to people who have no or cannot afford photo ID. I can’t think of any excuse as to why a person would not get a Free Voter Card??
www.gov.uk/government/news/voter-identification-faqs

If they know there are 2 people registered to vote at an address, someone fraudulently using that address for a vote would have to chance that both people hadn't arrived at 7am to vote

The name is crossed off once voted - if the same name tries to vote again, this is A BIG DEAL for the elections team and will not slip through the net - all votes are traceable. The second person may be able to vote too but this will be on a pink slip and it will be discovered which vote was genuine. It's illegal and the police can and do get involved. But it is so rare - only examples i have seen have been human error and these too get sorted.

Postal voting is extremely safe, you wouldn't believe the scrutiny and verification needed.

Students are not permitted to vote at both addresses in the same election - it depends whether it's national/local etc. and they will only be on the register to vote in one place for each election.

Deliberate voter fraud is very difficult and levels very low. Admin accidents are more common but the multiple checks and balances make it possible to trace back identify mistakes then take the legal route to put them right.

I don’t think it’s true to say there’s no way to know whether voter fraud is happening under the current system. The system at the moment would know if more than one person was trying to vote under the same identity.

The system at the moment would know if more than one person was trying to vote under the same identity.

Personation (someone using your vote by pretending to be you) does happen and is also unmeasured. If someone has voted as you before you go to vote, you are given a tendered ballot paper…which is not counted. So your vote doesn’t count. Your vote is stolen from you.

This impact of this largely goes unchallenged because of the hurdles of both needing proof and in one case reported below £20k in court costs to challenge the election.

www.libdemvoice.org/electoral-fraud-the-truth-about-personation-62382.html

That you Priti? 🧐

My friend once turned up to vote and couldn't because someone had already taken her vote (or the wrong line had been checked off).

They noted the details in case of need, but it only matters if the result is vv close.

OP I agree that ID should be shown and the voter card option sounds like a sensible way to resolve the accessibility problem. Hasn’t voter fraud been a problem in some London Boroughs?

Voter ID was first recommended by the Electoral Commission in 2014. So it’s not really case that this is a brain child of the Tory party.

“Finally, we should move to a system where voters are required to produce identification at polling stations. We gathered substantial evidence during our review that the lack of a requirement for ID is both an actual and a perceived weakness in the system. This move would introduce a new requirement for voters casting their ballot in a polling station, and we have considered carefully whether this will deter some voters from taking part. Our conclusion, again based on the evidence we gathered during the review, is that this risk can be managed and that it is therefore right to make this change, for the sake of the benefits it will bring in terms of improving the security of the system. A similar requirement already exists in Northern Ireland, where ID to vote has been required since 2002, as well as in many other countries.
We intend to consult widely and work with others to identify and develop a proportionate and accessible scheme for verifying electors’ identity at polling stations. There would clearly be costs involved in implementing such a scheme, and we will want to look at this aspect in more detail as we develop it; but we believe that the costs can be managed and are necessary in order to address this significant vulnerability in the system.”

www.electoralcommission.org.uk/sites/default/files/pdf_file/Electoral-fraud-review-final-report.pdf

Thats because the checks which should take place when the individual registers or validation of the electorate role was not taking place.
But in NI I can understand why a government official knocking on door to prove who lives in a home would be a problem.

I’ve always found it weird too. But basically there will always be a part of society that for various reasons doesn’t have any ID, and the idea is that asking for ID would exclude those people.

They do ask for your address and cross you off a list, so if someone pretended to be you they might notice, but yeah it doesn’t work.

It’s kinda an honesty system which is bizarre

Because having photo ID is expensive. It means that the poorest in society won't be able to vote.

In NI you can use driving license, passport, apply for a card from the electoral office or use your bus card.

People here are so used to it now they don't get the fuss!