14,000 England voters denied participation under new ID rules News
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14,000 England voters denied participation under new ID rules

Almost 14,000 English voters were denied a chance to participate in local elections across England, according to research by the Electoral Commission, updated on Friday. The report found that this was a result of a new voter ID policy.

Interim findings from the Electoral Commission found that four percent of all people who said they did not vote in the May 4 local elections claimed the ID requirement was the reason. Under the new ID requirement, English voters were required to show “any form of identification before being issued with a paper ballot.” If voters were unable to provide a valid form of ID, they were to apply ahead of time for a free Voter Authority Certificate, which would stand in place of an ID. Three percent of those surveyed by the commission said they did not have the necessary ID, and one percent said they disagreed with the new requirement altogether.

The new policy also affected those who made efforts to vote. Of those that went to polling stations, a quarter of a percentage point (roughly 14,000 people) were not issued a paper ballot because of the new voter ID requirement.

The data found that 0.7 percent of people were initially turned away from polling stations, but roughly two thirds of these people (63 percent) returned later in the day and were able to vote. Unfortunately, the data did not shed much light on how the new policy impacted specific groups of voters. However, the data suggested that disabled people, those from specific socio-economic backgrounds, certain ethnicities and those who are unemployed were more likely than other groups to give a reason related to ID for not voting.

Director of Communications, Policy and Research Craig Westwood said:

The evidence suggests that…some people were prevented from voting in polling stations due to the requirement, and significantly more did not attempt to because they lacked the required ID….We don’t want to see a single voter lose the opportunity to have their say.

In a statement released Friday, the Electoral Commission noted that the results indicate that “further work is required in order to ensure that elections remain truly accessible to all.” To accomplish this, the commission announced intentions to conduct research and make recommendations for improvement, which will be published in September.

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