to remind people to bring Voter ID.

[cakeorwine]

No matter who you are going to vote for.
Make sure you have Voter ID.
Make sure it's acceptable.

I know people are going to forget or have the wrong kind.

You can find the ID list here.

Voter ID | Electoral Commission

And your polling card. I'm a polling clerk and it's much quicker and easier for everyone if you remember both.

Bumping

Indeed. And if you feel aggrieved by it ( as I do), write to your (new?) MP after the election, but for god's sake still vote.

There is nothing to feel aggrieved about. Do you expect to show photo ID to cross boarders/access bank accounts/whatever? It is simply a measure to make sure that people aren't taking (or buying) other people's polling cards. It's ridiculous to suggest that it's an attempt to stop people voting and you would be wasting your MPs time complaining about it. We need MPs to actually fix the state of this country, not waste time on stuff that is basic common sense.

Nonsense.
i never take my polling card because it doesn’t make anything quicker or easier that stating my address & name

Why would you feel aggrieved by it?

Thousands stopped from voting @ehhdh https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-65988959 and thats the ones that got as far as the polling station - many more were put off in advance.

And surely you saw the veteran ID fiasco last time? They gerrymandered the wrong people!

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

Not everybody speaks the King's English, and those with heavy accents can be misunderstood, so yes, bringing your polling card does make it easier

Agreed. I stopped taking mine years ago. They still asked me my name and address anyway so it seemed a bit pointless to bother bringing it with me.

It does help because it can be quicker to find your voter number on the register than find your address.

PS you have to confirm your name and address

Also, although there are two people at the desk they are doing different job (marking the register/checking ID, and issuing the ballot papers). So please wait in the line and don't come forward and shove your card under the 2nd poll clerk's nose.

I totally agree that having to bring ID to vote is an attack on democracy. The demograph least likely to have ID are the ones least likely to vote Tory .
As I understand it there was next to no problem at polling stations with identity fraud. The postal vote is much more open to fraud. And also to people being coerced into casting their votes in a certain way.

I've voted in every election - national, local and referendums - for over 50 years and this will be the first time I've had to bring ID as here in Scotland it isn't necessary for Scottish elections. That will cause even more confusion up here.

It does because of you have a lot of people it's easier to use the polling number than search for addresses that are not in order, especially in an area that is densely populated with blocks of flats etc. Have you been a polling clerk? If you haven't then you really can't comment on the experience. Maybe you live on a street that has very straight forward addresses.

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

No matter who you vote for or if you agree with it.
Just remember to bring it

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.

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.

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.

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

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

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