Voters across the UK will benefit from greater protection against
election fraud, more support for disabled people at the polling
booth, and measures to prevent intimidation at the ballot box.
Voters across the UK will benefit from greater protection against
election fraud, more support for disabled people at the polling
booth, and measures to prevent intimidation at the ballot box, as
the Elections Bill receives Royal Assent today (28 April 2022).
The Elections Act also includes new anti-fraud measures for
absent voters, the introduction of First Past the Post for
mayoral and Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) elections and a
new electoral sanction for those convicted of intimidation
against a candidate, campaigner or elected office holder.
The legislation will require authorities to provide disabled
voters with specialist equipment to support them to vote if
needed, and allow anyone over the age of 18 to accompany them in
the polling station.
The Act delivers on manifesto commitments to protect the
integrity of democracy in the UK by introducing a requirement to
show photographic identification when voting in person at polling
stations. This greater level of protection, which already exists
in Northern Ireland, will ensure the electoral system remains
secure, transparent and fair for generations to come.
New measures will also expand participation in our democracy by
removing the 15-year limit on British citizens overseas voting in
UK Parliamentary elections.
Minister for Equalities and Levelling Up Communities :
It is paramount we protect the integrity of our ballot, so our
elections remain secure for generations to come.
Royal Assent now means we can eliminate election fraud and make
elections more inclusive, ensuring that everyone who is eligible
to vote will continue to have the opportunity to do so.
The Act will:
- Deliver on the government’s commitment to stop postal vote
harvesting by changing the rules so that people can apply for a
postal or proxy vote online through a new online system for
absent voters. Applicants can use the online platform as part of
the register to vote process or, for those who are already
registered, as a stand-alone online submission. These measures
will introduce safeguards against the abuse of postal voting.
- Introduce photographic identification for voting in polling
stations in Great Britain.
- Changes the voting system for mayoral and PCC elections to
First Past the Post, meaning that the candidate who wins the most
votes in each constituency is elected.
- Require authorities to provide voters with disabilities with
specialist equipment to support them to vote if need, and allow
anyone over the age of 18 to accompany disabled voters in the
polling station.
- Removes the 15-year limit on British citizens overseas voting
in UK Parliamentary elections, allowing any British citizen
previously registered or resident in the UK to register to vote.
- Introduce a new electoral sanction for those convicted of
intimidation against a candidate, campaigner or elected office
holder. The sanction would ban offenders from standing for
election for 5 years, as well as the punishment for the
underlying criminal offence which can include a fine or
imprisonment, depending on the severity of the intimidation.
- Update undue influence to include a wide range of harms, such
as physical violence, damage to a person’s property or
reputation, undue spiritual pressure and injury, or inflicting
financial loss.
- Update the political finance regulatory framework, by
increasing transparency, fairness, and strengthening controls
against ineligible foreign spending on electoral campaigning.
- Introduce a new digital imprints regime that will go much
further than the print imprint regime, increasing transparency
and empowering voters to make informed decisions about the
material they see online.
Following today’s Royal Assent, it is the government’s ambition
that implementation of the Act will happen within the lifetime of
this Parliament. Local councils will receive support from the
government’s Electoral Integrity Programme to allow them to
deliver the changes, and the Electoral Commission will
communicate through campaigns with voters to inform them of the
new requirements. The government will meet the cost of the new
requirements which arise from the Act.
The new voter identification requirement will be rolled out
through secondary legislation and will apply to UK Parliamentary
elections across Great Britain, mayoral and council elections and
local referendums in England, and Police and Crime Commissioner
elections in England and Wales in addition to existing provisions
for all Northern Ireland elections.
Government research shows 98% of electors already have an
accepted form of identification, and those who do not can apply
for a free Voter Card from their local council.
