A secure electoral system is vital to a healthy democracy, and the public must have confidence that our elections are secure and fit for the 21st century. Asking voters to bring photographic identification to their polling station is an important way of achieving this.
As you will be aware, the Elections Act 2022 puts such a requirement into law, alongside other measures to strengthen electoral integrity, including: tackling postal and proxy voting fraud; tackling intimidation; increasing transparency of digital campaigning; and preventing foreign interference in elections.
Identification to vote has been backed by the Electoral Commission and the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe’s Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights, which state that its absence is a security risk. Without a requirement for identification at the polling station, it is harder to take out a library book or collect a parcel at a post office than it is to vote in someone else’s name.
In Northern Ireland voters have been required to produce personal identification before voting in polling stations since 1985, with photographic identification introduced in 2003 by the last Labour Government. Ministers at the time noted that “the Government have no intention of taking away people’s democratic right to vote. If we believed that thousands of voters would not be able to vote because of this measure, we would not be introducing it at this time.”
The Electoral Commission observed that “since the introduction of photo ID in Northern Ireland there have been no reported cases of personation. Voters’ confidence that elections are well-run in Northern Ireland is consistently higher than in Great Britain, and there are virtually no allegations of electoral fraud at polling stations.” Indeed, the Electoral Commission's 2021 Public Opinion tracker recorded that not a single Northern Ireland respondent reported: "I don’t have any identification / I would not be able to vote".
Anyone without a form of identification can apply for a new free Voter Authority Certificate, ensuring that no voter will be disenfranchised. You can apply for a free Voter Authority Certificate online using the following link: https://www.gov.uk/apply-for-photo-id-voter-authority-certificate
The Electoral Commission is running a public awareness campaign to ensure all electors are aware of the new photographic identification requirements. I understand that the Government engaged with civil society organisations representing marginalised groups to support the Electoral Commission in creating its campaign. I have been assured that the Government will continue to work with the Electoral Commission to ensure all voters are aware of the new requirement.
In addition, the size of poll cards is being increased so that information can be added about the new requirement to bring photographic identification to the polling station. In pilots of photographic identification run by the Cabinet Office in 2019, 58 per cent of participants cited poll cards as a main source of information, suggesting they are an effective form of communication.
