Another Report Finds Voter ID Law Likely to Have Disenfranchised Hundreds of Thousands in UK General Election

The new voter ID rules rolled out UK-wide in this month’s General Election may have prevented 370,000 people from casting their ballots, disproportionately affecting women and people of colour, a new report has found

The study, conducted by Democracy Volunteers, the UK’s leading independent election observation group, found that 1.37% of voters in Great Britain were turned away from polling stations for lacking appropriate identification. 

When extrapolated to the total voting population, this suggests that more than 370,000 citizens across the UK might have been denied their right to vote due to the new ID rules.

It backs up polling conducted for the non-partisan group More in Common which found that approximately 400,000 people may have been turned away and prevented from voting on July 4th due to issues with voter ID. 

Democracy Volunteers’ report out today, based on observations at polling stations across the country, identified that within Great Britain, 255 voters were turned away out of 18,622. That means 1.37% of voters were turned away in England, Scotland and Wales, according to the group’s analysis. 

Perhaps most alarmingly, the study found that the ID requirement disproportionately affected certain demographic groups. Among those excluded, 21% were ‘non-white passing’ men, and 26% were ‘non-white passing’ women. 

Considering that just 19% of Brits are non-white, according to 2021 census data, the ID figures suggest that women and individuals from non-white backgrounds were far more likely to be turned away from polling stations than the general population. 

The findings will reignite the debate over the fairness of the UK’s strict voter ID law, introduced by the Conservative Government in 2022 despite widespread criticism from opposition parties and civil liberties groups. 

The report arguably backs up what civil society groups have long maintained– that the voter ID law has an unequal impact on people from ethnic minority backgrounds. 

Democracy Volunteers chief John Ault said: “Police warrant card aren’t accepted, and some students were turned away with their IDs. So it’s younger people and older people affected, but fundamentally [the issue] was people not knowing they required it.”

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The report adds: “Once again, as in previous election observations by Democracy Volunteers, this has disproportionately affected those from non-white passing backgrounds, as well as those being excluded being disproportionately women.” 

And Harry Busz, deputy director of DV, added that observers witnessed issues with people’s names on their IDs not matching exactly what was on the register, for example if they’d got married and changed their name recently. 

One observer told the report launch: “I personally witnessed a woman rejected because her ID showed her maiden surname, rather than married name which was the name she was registered under.”

The report also highlighted inconsistencies in the implementation of the ID checks. In 37 cases, observers noted that voters were not asked for ID before being allowed to vote. 

Additionally, some presiding officers appeared to allow voting when they personally knew the voter, despite them not presenting acceptable ID, a practice the authors condemn as “unacceptable”.

While 96% of polling stations had signage informing voters about the new ID requirements, the placement varied, with 53% inside the polling station, 38% outside, and 5% in both locations.

The Democracy Volunteers report makes several recommendations to the Government for change, including: 

1. Extending valid forms of ID to include those issued by trusted organisations – such as allowing police warrant cards or NHS ID to be used
2. Conducting ID checks only at the presiding officer’s desk (rather than by ‘meeters and greeters’ outside the polling station) 
3. Considering a system of ‘attestation’ for voters without ID, where someone with ID can ‘vouch’ for the identity of a would-be voter who lacks it 

In Northern Ireland, where photo ID has been required for longer, only seven voters observed out of 2,085 were turned away. Northern Ireland offers free NI Electoral Identity Cards on a nation-wide basis. In Britain, free IDs are managed and distributed by around 300 different local councils. 

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Democracy Volunteers director John Ault also noted big issues with voter registration, saying the UK’s system of manual registration was “fundmanetally quite a foolish way of having people register to vote.”

“It places significant burdens on administrators, and an awful lot of duplicate registrations.” About half of all registrations are estimated to be duplicates, as voters cannot check easily if they are already on the electoral roll. 

Instead, he suggests the Department for Work and Pensions could automatically add people to the electoral roll. “It would make admin much easier. It’s something we’d encourage the Government to look at.” Labour said before the election that they would introduce automatic voter registration, though it is not in the Government’s first legislative programme. 

“Automatic voter registration would help councils not spend their limited time registering voters,” Ault added. 

The democracy group is increasingly concerned about threats to election candidates, too.  As many as 40% of candidates who responded to the organisation’s survey reported being subject to “concerning behaviour” during the campaign. Candidates from ethnic minorities and LGBTQ+ backgrounds were more likely to face abuse or threats.

Declining newspaper circulations and the increasing importance of social media in campaigning have moved election debates from the print to voters having more direct access to candidates, which comes with risks and opportunities. 

Researchers spotted a strange loophole in the UK’s election law: if you describe yourself as being British, it’s not apparently checked by local councils when people register to vote. “There’s no way for a council to identify whether you are British or not,” when registering, potentially allowing those not eligible to vote. There is no evidence that this is widespread or indeed happening. You can read the full report here.

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Josiah Mortimer also writes the On the Ground column, exclusive to the print edition of Byline Times.

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