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.
