SOUTH Lanarkshire Council has denied there have been “issues” with voter ID as people head to the polls in the Rutherglen and Hamilton West by-election.
The National has received reports from several political parties that voters are being turned away due to a lack of accepted identification.
When asked how many people had been stopped from voting due to a lack of identification, a spokesperson for South Lanarkshire Council said: “We are not aware of any notable issues at any polling stations.
“Since the Election Act 2020 was passed it has been a legal requirement to present valid photo ID in order to vote in a UK Parliament election, and polling staff are required to enforce this requirement.
“This requirement was emphasised to all electors when they received their polling cards.
“The requirement for photo ID has also been extensively promoted ahead of the by-election by the council and the Electoral Commission.”
When asked what defined a "notable" issue The National was told the council was not aware of any issues with voter ID.
This is the first time that people have needed photo ID to vote in an election in Scotland.
The rule was brought in by the UK Government and made its debut at the English local council elections earlier in the year.
According to the Electoral Commission at least 14,000 people who turned up to cast their vote were turned away and did not return.
However, the Electoral Reform Society said the true number of people prevented from voting is likely to be in the tens of thousands as many people without ID will simply not have turned up knowing they would be rejected.
A report published by the Electoral Commission in May found that the photo ID requirement had a disproportionate effect on disabled and unemployed voters during the English local elections, who were less likely to vote due to not having an acceptable form of ID.
