ON Thursday, voters in Rutherglen and Hamilton West will go to the polls.
The Westminster by-election, which was called after constituents signed a recall petition to oust Margaret Ferrier, will see the area return a new MP.
Labour’s Michael Shanks and the SNP’s Katy Loudon are battling it out in the seat, with any other party’s chances of winning all but written off by political commentators.
But as voters go to the polls, there is one rule change which might catch them out: The need for photographic ID.
Do you need ID to vote in the Rutherglen and Hamilton West by-election?
The short answer is yes, people will need to show ID in order to vote in the Rutherglen and Hamilton West by-election.
This is because the Conservatives’ 2022 Elections Act came into effect for UK parliamentary elections in October 2023.
It will be the first Scottish vote where people have needed to prove their identity in order to take part.
Voters will only need to show one form of ID, but it must be the original and not a photocopy.
What ID can I show?
According to the Electoral Commission, there are a range of acceptable IDs which you can show before being allowed to vote.
These are:
- A passport issued by the UK, any of the Channel Islands, the Isle of Man, a British Overseas Territory, an EEA state or a Commonwealth country (including an Irish Passport Card).
- A passport issued by the UK, any of the Channel Islands, the Isle of Man, a British Overseas Territory, an EEA state or a Commonwealth country (including an Irish Passport Card).
- A driving licence issued by the UK, any of the Channel Islands, the Isle of Man, or an EEA state (this includes a provisional driving licence)
- A Blue Badge
- Older Person’s Bus Pass funded by the UK Government
- Disabled Person’s Bus Pass funded by the UK Government
- Oyster 60+ Card funded by the funded by the UK Government
- Freedom Pass
- Scottish National Entitlement Card issued for the purpose of concessionary travel (including a 60+, disabled or under 22s bus pass)
- 60 and Over Welsh Concessionary Travel Card
- Disabled Person’s Welsh Concessionary Travel Card
- Senior SmartPass issued in Northern Ireland
- Registered Blind SmartPass or Blind Person’s SmartPass issued in Northern Ireland
- War Disablement SmartPass issued in Northern Ireland
- 60+ SmartPass issued in Northern Ireland
- Half Fare SmartPass issued in Northern Ireland
- Identity card bearing the Proof of Age Standards Scheme hologram (a PASS card)
- Biometric immigration document
- Ministry of Defence Form 90 (Defence Identity Card)
- National identity card issued by an EEA state
- Electoral Identity Card issued in Northern Ireland
- Voter Authority Certificate
- Anonymous Elector's Document
What effect has the new ID requirement had?
Local elections held in England in May saw the widespread need for voters to show ID for the first time.
The following month, figures from the Electoral Commission suggested that around 14,000 people had been blocked from voting after they could not show a correct form of ID.
The elections watchdog said “significantly more” people likely did not even bother to turn up to polling stations because of the Tory government’s policy.
In September, election staff warned there would be “serious disruption” at the next General Election as the need for voter ID is rolled out nationally.
Jacob Rees-Mogg sparked controversy after England’s May elections by appearing to admit that the Conservatives’ insistence on voter ID had been an attempt to “gerrymander” British votes.
