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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

to remind people to bring Voter ID.

41 replies

cakeorwine · 03/07/2024 12:49

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

OP posts:
parkrun500club · 04/07/2024 09:51

GiantHornets · 03/07/2024 13:17

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

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.

FOJN · 04/07/2024 10:11

Fluffytoebeanz · 03/07/2024 15:05

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 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.

Tortielady · 04/07/2024 10:28

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.

Chattygirl123 · 04/07/2024 14:37

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

Fluffytoebeanz · 04/07/2024 15:18

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

acatcalledjohn · 04/07/2024 18:09

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.

Tlolljs · 04/07/2024 18:13

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.

MichaelFabricantsSyrup · 04/07/2024 18:27

Tlolljs · 04/07/2024 18:13

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.

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

MadameMassiveSalad · 04/07/2024 20:45

Also a polite reminder to please vote them out 🙏

stopthetories.vote

AlderGirl · 04/07/2024 21:07

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?

Fluffytoebeanz · 04/07/2024 22:52

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"

🙄

malmi · 04/07/2024 23:01

AlderGirl · 04/07/2024 21:07

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?

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?

Fluffytoebeanz · 04/07/2024 23:09

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

malmi · 04/07/2024 23:29

Fluffytoebeanz · 04/07/2024 23:09

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

Edited

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?

Fluffytoebeanz · 04/07/2024 23:40

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.

Fluffytoebeanz · 04/07/2024 23:43

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

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