Hundreds of voters across Bolton were turned away from polling stations because of the new ID requirements at the local elections earlier this month. The new rule requiring that people voting at polling stations present an accepted form of photo identification – such as a driving licence or passport – came into force for the first time in all local elections across England on May 4.
The government says the measure was put in place to prevent voter fraud. However, critics warned that the move would mean disenfranchising some voters, especially younger voters in more deprived areas. A total 450 voters in Bolton were turned away because they had the wrong ID or no ID.
Of these, 269 returned later with ID and voted. 181 of these voters did not return. A total of 69,989 voters participated in the ‘all out’ poll for Bolton Council, a 33 per cent turnout.
That means the 181 who attempted to vote and could not is about 0.26 per cent of voters.
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The figure is the third highest of all the borough’s in Greater Manchester, with Manchester, which is much larger seeing 589 unable to mark their ballot paper. Stockport was the only other authority in the region with a higher figure, with 190 people not returning after being turned away.
In Tameside just 53 people were denied the chance to vote through ID requirements while in Oldham the figure was 62. When polls closed on May 4, the Electoral Commission said that the elections were ‘well run’, but confirmed that some people were unable to vote as a result of the new ID requirement.
There were some very close results in Bolton on May 4 including independent Derek Bullock retaining his seat in Hulton ward by just five votes with former Conservative cabinet member Toby Hewitt losing his seat. Labour’s Kate Taylor also won her seat in Astley Bridge by a slim 14 vote margin.
The election ended with Labour as the largest party with 26 seat and they will lead the council over the next 12 months after their leader Nick Peel was elected to head the authority a week ago.
A spokesperson, said: “We already know from our research that the ID requirement posed a greater challenge for some groups in society, and that some people were regrettably unable to vote today as a result.” The independent body said a review is under way.
A Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities spokesperson said: “It’s vital we keep our democracy secure, prevent the potential for voter fraud, and bring the rest of the UK in line with Northern Ireland which has had photo identification to vote in elections since 2003.
“This follows successful pilots in 2018 and 2019, including in Woking where over 99 per cent of people were able to successfully cast their vote.”
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