The 2024 General Election is weeks away, and voter ID is mandatory for the first time since the passing of the Elections Act 2022.
General elections, by-elections, recall petitions, local elections, and Police and Crime Commissioner elections will all require voter ID.
The move has led to divided opinion, with some completely unaware of the new rules. One in seven Londoners were unaware of new rules requiring voters to show photo ID for the mayoral election on May 2, according to a poll by Focaldata.
The photo ID measure has been put in place by the Government to ensure that elections are protected from “the potential for voter fraud”.
But levels of fraud have been extremely rare in past elections, and young people’s travel passes are not valid ID, leading to accusations that the Conservatives are trying to suppress the Labour vote.
In the past week, however, nearly half a million applications to vote were submitted.
A total of 491,144 applications were made in the week to June 10, Government figures show, up 44 per cent from 339,991 in the previous week.
Some 30 per cent of applications submitted in the past week were by people aged 25 to 34, with a further 23 per cent from people under 25.
With the big day looming, students can get a free photo ID just in time for July 4. Here's how.
How students can get a free Photo ID to vote in the general election
The National Union of Students (NUS) and Citizen Card are offering a free form of photo ID for students.
The National Union of Students (NUS) wrote on X in April: “FREE PHOTO ID FOR STUDENTS! This year photo ID presents a new barrier for young people and students to get their voices heard. So we've teamed up with @CitizenCard to offer FREE voter ID that can be used in next month's Local Elections.”
To access this service, use the code ‘NUS’ when buying a CitizenCard or use this link here.
