Just 85,288 people applied online for a free Voter Authority Certificate despite an estimated 2.1 million people being unlikely to have ID to vote at the ballot box.
The deadline to apply for the free document closed at 5pm with fears now setting in that millions of people will be at risk of being turned away from polling stations because they do not have a valid form of ID.
New rules mean people in England must show photo identification for the first time to vote in May’s local elections.
Campaigners warn that passports and driving licences - which will be accepted as forms of ID at polling stations - are expensive options with people from low income families unlikely to be able to get one.
With less than 100,000 people applying for a Voter Authority Certificate, it means two million people might have no form of ID to take to the ballot box on May 4.
Today saw the biggest number of people apply for the document - at 4,467 online applications.
MPs and peers have warned that compulsory ID plans could deny an estimated 2.1 million the right to vote.
A report by Parliament’s Joint Committee on Human Rights said: “This leaves 4% of registered voters – 2.1 million people – with the choice of applying for the voter card or losing the ability to vote at the polling station.”
The Tories have been accused of rigging the rules by refusing to accept some forms of identification.
Under the plans, an older person’s bus pass can be used but, confusingly, not a young person’s rail card.
A senior MP has also said Tory Voter ID checks will make it harder for Black and minority ethnic people to vote.
Labour ’s Clive Lewis, who chairs the all-party parliamentary group on race, said Voter ID “undermines the very cornerstone of our democracy” as he expressed “concern” about the underrepresentation of minority ethnic groups in elections worsening.
He said: “The problem has been known for decades and yet little progress has been achieved. Reforms in the Elections Act 2022 are among the most significant changes to the electoral system of the past century.
“By risking voter disenfranchisement and subverting security scrutiny procedures they undermine the very cornerstone of our democracy.”
Mr Lewis urged the Government “to address the issue of political exclusion and discuss how we dismantle barriers to political participation”.
Dr Jess Garland, from the Electoral Reform Society, also said poorer communities were to be impacted.
She said: “There's absolutely no doubt that low income groups are going to be massively affected by this.
“It's very clear in the research that the types of ID being asked for - passports, driving licences - cost money to get and if you don’t have those, you also have the cost and time of getting an alternative and so there is no way of getting around that this does have a cost approach to it… which is unjustifiable.”
The average number of applications per day for voter authority certificates stood at 1,941 in the week to April 24, up from 1,735 the previous week.
Some 3,536 applications were submitted yesterday, the highest number behind today's figure.
The current figure for applications relate to those made online - there is likely to be a very small number of applications having been made through other means such as post.
The Government's introduction of compulsory photo ID has been branded "expensive" and "unnecessary" by Labour and sparked concern among electoral reform campaigners, who say it could make it harder for some voters to cast their ballot.
The Electoral Commission said extra staff will be deployed at some polling stations to make sure voters are aware of the new rules and to help manage queues.
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