Voting ID is a nonsense

[Cranmer]

They asked to see my ID at the polling station door, but I went to the desk and could have said I was anyone. Should they not check it against your name and address, not just randomly look at the picture at the door?

All this does is put people off voting as they can't be bothered to get their passport out the drawer. Grrrrr

They checked mine against the list, I also brought my card. All very easy. I asked and nobody had been turned away

sad?

it's sad that you don't understand the process of this change.

This type of remark is so enraging.

What do you support the stupid ID policy FOR - what is the problem (real problem, not a made-up problem you have invented in your head), what is the ID needed for? There is no impersonation happening, why do you support a policy which claims to stop something that isn't happening?

It is like bloody Brasseye.

I was checked against the list at the desk, noone was at the door. They then forgot to give it back to me until they asked for it!

Please explain the 'process'.

I understand plenty. I've been a polling clerk, I've been a campaigner, I've worked for politicians.

What precisely do you think I don't understand?

I am quite happy to help prevent voting fraud. My card came a month or two ago. As long as you are computer literate you could have read the card and sorted it out. Yes some might miss out but fraud needs stamping out.

But what is the point?

What do you think is the benefit of the extra £millions spent on this pantomime?

It is the illogicality that winds me up.

-We have no problem
-We must do something about it!
-Public: bravo!

There is no fraud. What 'fraud' are you talking about?

You have fallen for a right old load of bollocks.

Please provide some evidence of fraud in the real world.

You have let your brain get addled, honestly.

Tinkerbyebye · Yesterday 21:46

Don’t be so ridiculousI D is required when voting in many countries, we are finally getting there, and it will help stop election fraud

Personation at polling stations is virtually non-existent. At the last general election, there were fewer than 20 and most of them turned out to be genuine mistakes, with two or three convictions.

Most voter fraud is done in postal ballots, which need no ID.

The Tories have whipped up a storm over something insignificant, in order to deter people who don't vote for them.

Can you post without insulting or not? You can deny there are occasions of voting fraud if you like but it does happen. Anyway it doesn't seem to have stopped Labour doing better.

Same here, checked ID at door then not at all when ticking me off list. It's pointless this way!

Spent about 15mins ranting about this to DH last night!

They wished enough people turned out to vote to warrant protections against fraud!

At our polling station there was a man sitting on a chair outside wearing a blue rosette. He asked me if I had my polling card. No. I went inside, handed over ID and gave my name and they seemed to be checking ID against my name, rather than what I looked like.

I ‘rage voted’ anyway. One party barely appears in our area, other than a mail shot that arrived the day before the election.

I can try. But I think believing in things that don't exist is not healthy.

You have no evidence of fraud because there has been no fraud.

The fact you believe in fraud is interesting.

Why do you believe there is fraud when there is not?

it's sad that you don't understand the process of this change.

I don't understand your sentence @MaisieMay23 so if you could explain the 'process of this change' that would be great.

How old are you? I can only imagine you are either very young, or don't pay any attention to politics.

Pretty much every decision the Tories make, is either about creating profit for the ultra rich, or clinging onto power, by hook or by crook.

This one is about clinging onto power by suppressing the vote from people less likely to vote for them (as poor and on the receiving end of inhumane Tory policies).

Voter fraud isn't a problem that needs solving, the levels are miniscule in this country.

If you believe in democracy you want as many people to vote as possible, and with very little voter fraud happening, there's no reason to bring in a measure that reduces the number taking part. It is only worth doing it you don't care about democracy are trying to affect the result.

@MaisieMay23 yes, none of which he has.

They’re idiots is the explanation 😂

Our polling station checked my ID against my name on their list . In and out in 5 minutes , no drama. So many people do not turn up to vote that there was never any way of knowing if someone was voting under their own name, and then again under some one else’s name. If that person didn’t show up to vote they would never know someone had already used their vote fraudulently. It’s just common sense to use ID.

They messed it up at my polling station. They told ds2 he'd already voted when he went with me in the afternoon. Turns out they'd crossed off his name instead of my ds1's when he went earlier despite ds1 showing id (driving licence).

They checked and could see that it said ds2 had voted and ds1 had not. I knew ds1 had already voted because I'd offered him a lift to the polling station with us but he said he'd already been.

I preferred the olden days when you could see the list as they crossed off your name with a pencil. At least you could see they'd got the right one. I remember once having to stop them crossing off my husband's name instead of mine.

At ours, there was a lady on the door reminding people they needed photo ID before they entered the room.

My ID got checked by one lady at the desk and then she gave me my driving licence back and the other lady took my polling card and crossed me off. Then First Lady said “ oh it does say your address on that doesn’t it?” And I looked on my driving licence and said “yes”. And then try gave me my voting slip.

And then I voted rather randomly because I’d forgotten my glasses.

I have worked as a poll clerk on numerous occasions. You might think that fraud in elections does not exist but I can assure you that it does. There may not be many prosecutions but I have had people try to vote for siblings, parents for adult children etc. Now if they had a proxy vote that would be fine, but they have tried to vote for another person. I many countries having ID and carrying it on you all the time is normal. In the UK we think it's an infringement of our liberty or something. The issue is that we are trying to do something without taking the logical step of just issuing ID cards which, IMHO, would resolve lots of issues.
I did hand my driving license to the poll clerk yesterday, no issues. I think as this is the first time we have done this there will be confusion on how to deal with presenting the ID. But truthfully, I think ID is a good move.

Voter fraud isn't a problem that needs solving, the levels are miniscule in this country

Thats right. And what have we spent on this charade, to fix a non existent problem? 100mil is it? Bloody nonsense at a time like this. Clearly an attempt at voter suppression and anyone who says otherwise has swallowed the bloody kool aid and frankly needs ignoring.

Turn out is apparently well down- now there’s a surprise.

Disgusting behaviour from a disgusting government.

of course it is, the Torys bought it in to try and exclude people who may vote Labour, but now the hard-right press are complaining it might deter older votes who tend to vote Tory!

Nothing to do with fraud then? This case was highly publicised enough.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-47535867

.

We have had to show photo ID in NI for many years. We aren't asked for ID at the entrance to the polling station, but are asked when we arrive at the polling booth. The person at the desk asks for your name, finds it on their list, then thoroughly checks it against your ID, then checks your ID against you. This seems to work well. I don't see the the need for checking ID in two separate locations.

We did have significant voter fraud in NI though. Vote early and vote often was joked about (slogan stolen from America).