Research looking at the rollout of Voter ID has shown that 95% of
people who voted in person in May’s local elections found the
process easy.
The research also showed that nearly eight in ten people were
confident that these elections ran well and the majority of the
public were aware of the new requirement to bring photo ID.
Commissioned by the Government, the report published today was
drawn up through public opinion surveys, as part of ongoing
evaluation work.
The Electoral Commission also found that 90% of voters were
satisfied with the process of voting – in line with the most
recent comparable elections in 2019, when 91% of voters were
satisfied.
The Government has also today set out further work be carried out
by an external research agency to help develop our understanding
of the rollout of Voter ID across Great Britain.
Elections Minister Baroness Scott said:
“We are committed to ensuring everyone has the opportunity to
have their say in our democracy as we implement the Electoral
Commission’s recommendation of introducing identification for
voting in person across Great Britain, in line with the
longstanding arrangements in Northern Ireland.
“The Government has always been confident in the ability of local
authorities to implement the voter identification changes whilst
continuing to deliver our elections robustly and securely.
“It’s very encouraging the vast majority of voters in the polling
station - 99.75% - were able to cast their vote successfully at
the local elections in England in May and adapted well to the
rollout of voter identification in Great Britain.
“We are ensuring we fully understand how the policy has operated
in practice, what has gone well and where there are any areas for
improvement in the future.”
As set out in the Elections Act, voters are now required to bring
photo ID for in person voting. This will help stamp out the
potential for voter fraud, keep our democracy secure and bring
the rest of the UK in line with Northern Ireland which has had
photo identification to vote in elections since 2003.
As specified in this legislation, the government will carry out
thorough evaluation of the implementation of voter identification
at the local elections in May, and at the next two Parliamentary
elections.
This will provide a full picture of the impact of voter
identification and provide evidence on how the process could be
improved, and will consider the Electoral Commission’s final
report on the May 2023 local elections in England.
The two documents that have been published are the step to do
this, and will pave the way for the Government’s first full
evaluation report in November.
