New laws requiring electors to show photo identification when voting will ‘disenfranchise many’ and could lead to a security risk for polling station staff, councillors have heard. The Elections Act 2022 was passed by Parliament in April.
It requires voters to show photo ID before being issued with a ballot paper at UK elections and local elections in England.
However speaking at a recent full Bolton council meeting, Labour opposition leader Coun Nick Peel said that some voters denied the chance to cast their ballot next May by the new regulations could ‘kick off’ and staff overseeing elections could be at risk of abuse.
Coun Peel, said: “We’re moving forward to the notion of compulsory voter ID. A lot of us have got some very serious concerns. This is trying to fix something that isn’t broken. The UK has one of the cleanest and most transparent democratic processes in the world.
