Reading Borough Council (RBC) could create its own photo identification for residents if Government changes to electoral law go ahead requiring ID to vote at elections.
A councillor has put forward a motion opposing making photo ID mandatory to vote at elections and resolving that, if it becomes law, the council should work to bring in a low-cost ID scheme.
If the motion is passed by RBC’s Full Council on Tuesday, June 8, the council will commit to opposing the introduction of photo ID as a requirement to vote at polling stations.
The motion also says, if mandatory photo ID is passed into law, the council will “make all reasonable efforts within its means and available budget to introduce a low-cost ID scheme, available to all voters in the borough, that will qualify as legitimate ID for voting purposes”.
A voter places a ballot paper in the ballot box at the polling station at Market Hall in Swadlincote, Derbyshire, as the General Election got underway across the UK..
The most recent Queen’s Speech contained Government proposals to require people to show identification including a photograph in order to vote in General Elections.
The motion from Labour Cllr Richard Davies says voting at elections is the “cornerstone of democracy” and “unnecessary barriers” to voting are likely to reduce:
- Voter turnout
- Proper representation of all parts of the community
- The legitimacy of those elected to office
It also says the requirement to produce photo ID will likely disproportionally discourage younger people and people from disadvantaged communities from voting and so “amounts to voter suppression affecting specific groups of people”.
There is no evidence of widespread electoral fraud by voter impersonation in the UK.
Of the 595 alleged cases of electoral fraud investigated by police in relation to the 2019 General Election, only 33 were related to voter impersonation at a polling station, a tony proportion of the more than 58 million votes cast.
Turnout at the local elections in Reading in 2021 was 36 per cent.
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According to an Electoral Commission report on a proof of identity scheme for polling station voters, 11 million people have no driving licence or passport and 3.5 million people have no access to photo ID at all.
Additionally, it is estimated that it will cost about £20 million per election to implement photo ID at polling stations.
Cllr Davies is a member of the ruling Labour group, which has a strong majority of 12 and so the motion is expected to pass next week.
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