Extra polling station staff who have been preparing “for months” to deal with new voter ID rules will be drafted in next month, the Electoral Commission said, amid fears the policy could leave people disenfranchised. The agency’s director of communications, Craig Westwood, said there has been a huge training drive as people navigate the requirement to show photo identification.
The Government’s controversial new policy means that voters must not only be registered to cast a ballot but also take a form of ID such as a passport or driving licence when they head to their local polling station on May 4. Anyone without the correct identification needs to apply for a voter authority certificate (VAC) by April 25.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has said the change will help ensure voting is a “high-integrity process”, despite no evidence of large-scale electoral fraud in the UK. The Local Government Association (LGA) has voiced fears that electoral staff will be “overwhelmed” on polling day as they grapple with “the biggest change to in-person voting in 150 years”. Mr Westwood told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme that extensive planning has been undertaken to get councils ready for the challenge in May.
