Voter ID to change the way we vote!

Councillor Andy Kelly, Leader of the Liberal Democrats in Rochdale, has hit out at the unfair Voter ID system to be introduced in England for local elections from the 4th May 2023, and for General Elections from October 2023, which means that to vote at a polling station electors will have to show specific forms of photo ID.

Councillor Kelly stated that "The type of ID you can show is very arbitrary, for example a young person taking their pensioner grandparent to vote cannot show their bus pass as ID, whilst the pensioner grandparent can, indeed, the accepted types of ID often exclude those used by younger people."

"It is estimated that over two million people lack the necessary identification, although you can apply for something called a Voter Authority Certificate (Details of which can be found by visiting the Electoral Commission website: www.electoralcommission.org.uk/i-am-a/voter/voter-id)."

The Tory government claim to have introduced these measures to combat voter fraud, though critics have pointed out that there is very little actual evidence of such fraud, and that authorities should focus more resources on addressing postal vote irregularities, where you do not need to provide any photo ID to register. Others have called these measures outright cynical by the current Tory Government to reduce the number of opposition votes, as people without photo ID tend not to vote for them.

So, what might this mean for Rochdale?

Councillor Kelly informed us that "Currently, about 26% of the electorate has signed up for a postal vote. At the last local election in 2022, around 40% of the turnout voted by mail. All three major political parties are encouraging people to sign up for a postal vote, so that 26% is expected to rise quite significantly, and it’s entirely possible the overall 'in person' turnout will fall further."

Most people vote going to or from work, and are unlikely to return to the polling station if they had the wrong voter ID, especially given the distance to some polling stations in some parts of the borough.

Councillor Kelly added “Regardless of what I think of the measures, we have to do our best to comply with them. I fundamentally believe in fair democracy, so I want to encourage as many people as possible to vote, and we will have to either register for postal or proxy voting or remind as many people as possible to provide the correct ID on the day.”

“The way in which we vote will continue to change, but what is more important is that we all participate. Decisions are taken by those who take part.”

To apply to the Council for a postal vote, click here: https://www.rochdale.gov.uk/elections-voting/postal-voting