To ask if you knew you now need photo ID to vote at a polling station?

[DidyouknowyouneedID]

As of the local and Mayoral elections in May in England, you'll need to show photo ID at a polling station when you go to vote in person.

For Wales this also includes PCC elections and parliamentary seats.

If you don't have photo ID, you won't be given a ballot paper.

Here's a list of the accepted forms of photo ID that you need to take with you:

www.electoralcommission.org.uk/i-am-a/voter/voter-id/accepted-forms-photo-id

And if you don't have accepted photo ID you can apply online for a Voter Authority Certificate before 25 April and take that with you:

www.gov.uk/apply-for-photo-id-voter-authority-certificate

People like your aunt are more vulnerable to having their votes stolen or influenced by family members.

so the opposite of your argument is true, having ID protects the integrity of the votes for illiterate and vulnerable people .

Rubbish, Rubbish, Rubbish.

It's clearly taken from Northern Ireland which has required voter ID since 1985 which is why the Electoral Commission frequently cite Northern Ireland as an example to follow.

Not everything comes down to the Americans.....🤦‍♂️

It's dystopian.

Only a few EU countries issue free IDs, the vast majority you have to pay for them. In my country the ID card costs between 46 and 60 euros (depending on whether or not you apply online and at the same time for a passport) and is only valid for 5 years. The UK proposal, with the free voter ID form, sounds really quite good in comparison, just so long as information is given out to everyone in plenty of time for the first elections requiring it.

If the elderly, vulnerable and illiterate cannot or find it difficult to access the ID scheme, then how does that protect them?

These are the very people who will vote by post, where they really can be manipulated.

Changes to the voting system should go ahead with full support from all concerned not with the very people whose job it is to ensure free and fair elections, the electoral commission, not fully on board.

Lets get it right first and not use important local elections as some sort of experiment.

Northern Ireland and indeed the Irish Republic had a history of people going to vote more than once, often for someone who they knew could not vote because of illness or indeed because they had died since the last electoral register was made.

Other than the limited cases such as in Tower Hamlets, elsewhere in the UK there has never been the suggestion of the practice being widespread.

It does not justify the government plan, especially the forms of ID being skewed towards ones more likely to be applicable to older people.

Again in Northern Ireland they don’t find it difficult to access the ID scheme at all so I’m not sure what you mean.

local councillors and politicians are very proactive in running workshops and assistance with the forms and confirming the ID.

Obviously you are supporting your aunt with her vote every election so why would it be a big deal to support her with filling in a one off form.

I think it’s just faux anger

For goodness sake are you trying to tell me that out of all the millions of voters in England there isn’t the slightest possibility that some abusive husband, wife, parent sibling, cater doesn’t steal a vote?? Only the Irish are fraudsters?

Rubbish The potential and likelihood of it is huge.

worse that that and much bigger than an odd stolen vote, You only have to look around the world in recent history to see the accusations of fraudulent and false elections to understand the magnitude of having a country where the elections results are in doubt. USA, Belarus to name a couple. It creates unrest and casts doubt on the integrity of the country and its leader. You don’t know what’s round the corner in terms of change int he country and Great Britain can ill afford to have any accusations flying about of false elections.

Carer*

A minority did it in Northern Ireland, but most people did not.

But that's really by the by. The Electoral Commission recognises the need to make the GB voting procedure more secure in order to inspire confidence in the system.

And boost turnout.

This is the true reason voter ID was introduced in Northern Ireland in the first place. It's been successful and will be so in GB.

You are both incorrect.
There is no significant class distinction between Labour/Tory voters anymore.

In fact, if I wanted to lower the Labour voter-base I would lock degree-holders in a tower, as they are far more likely to vote red than people with GCSEs or less.

No i am not supporting my Aunt, she lives miles away, she walks to the polling station, its about 100m away from her front door, i ve tried explaining to her the new system and what she has to do, she doesn't really get it, she has a landline, thats her interaction with technology, i did phone her council but the person i spoke to (and that took an absolute age) said they couldn't help as they weren't running any workshops near her... so unless i drive up to her & walk her through the whole thing, she wont vote, many elderly and vulnerable have no one to do this for them.

I have no faux anger, in fact i think it will harm the Tory vote... ( re aunt) but i would rather more time taken.., i'd have thought anyone who believes in democracy would want any changes to be well thought through and work first time? but hey ho.

i really don't get the comparison with NI, most of the time they don't even have an assembly sitting.

My goodness what a way to shoot down your own entire argument.

You’re not even worth engaging with

You've just shown you've no idea what you're talking about in relation to Northern Ireland right there.

Your claim that Northern Ireland's Assembly hasn't sat "most of the time" is plain rubbish. Stormont has been suspended for 35% since devolution began, so it's clearly operated most of the time since then.

And the comparison with voter ID in Northern Ireland more than holds up since the Belfast Agreement explicitly states "Northern Ireland is a FULL and INTEGRAL part of the United Kingdom".

You're merely attempting to help along faux outrage based on a flimsy argument voter ID will hurt Labour and benefit the Conservatives as well as the poor v rich. That doesn't hold.

And you know it.

Today is the last day you can apply for a free Votors' ID Card, if you need one.

Just Google it, and follow the steps on the government's website. It's really easy you only need your National Insurance Number and a digital photo.

It's really quick too. I think the deadline for applications is 5pm, today.

Hope this helps someone.

The deadline is for the local elections.

For the avoidance of doubt since some may be thinking, you'll be able to apply for your Voter Authority Certificate after local elections and before any General Election, FYI.

Oh, I didn't realise that. Thank you for clarifying.