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Exeter criticises costly ID laws

A new law requiring people to show ID to vote in future elections has been criticised by Exeter councillors.

Passed earlier this year, the Elections Act 2022 means people will have to show an approved form of photo ID when they arrive at polling stations. If they don’t have one, they can apply for a free voter card from their council.

This will come into force for the first time in next year’s local elections, unless a general election is called sooner.

Exeter City Council’s executive this week approved an initial budget of £50,000 to fund the required changes, with further costs likely in future years. It expects to claim the money back from central government.

The budget includes funding an additional member of staff to work at each polling station. This is due to what John Street, the council’s ‘returning officer’ – the person responsible for running elections – describes as the “challenges” they may face, especially if voters don’t turn up with the correct ID.

Money will also go towards processing applications, extra facilities to check some IDs in private, and appropriate equipment and adaptations to support voters with disabilities.

The council says research suggests around two per cent of eligible voters in Exeter may require a voter card; that is approximately 2,000 people.

But it warns the figure “could be much higher than this and there is nothing preventing a person who already has an acceptable form of photo ID applying for a voter card.”

The ID requirement is justified by the government as a “reasonable and proportionate way to confirm that someone is who they say they are when voting, thus stamping out the potential for voter fraud to take place.”

However, councillors were told voter fraud is incredibly rare in Exeter.

Mr Street said: “In the most recent times I know of, there have been two suspected electoral fraud issues within Exeter, which I’ve referred to the police, and neither of them were found to be issues of electoral fraud.”

But he added: “There are other areas where electoral fraud has been identified.”

Councillor Josie Parkhouse (Labour, Pennsylvania) is “pretty dismayed” at the new requirement and said about a thousand people were turned away from a test pilot of the scheme in Bromley.

She said: “They came without ID, they were turned away and they didn’t come back.

“We know in local elections every vote matters and I think we’ll see for ourselves that this isn’t a great programme and will just lead to more disenfranchisement of very vulnerable populations.

“Those who don’t have ID to drive, those who don’t have ID to go abroad – they’re less likely to have the capacity to go to local government or central government to get these new forms of ID.”

Councillor Ruth Williams (Labour, Mincinglake & Whipton) also shared the concerns, saying: “the effect it’s going to have on democracy across the whole country.”

The executive approved the £50,000 budget and any future financial requirements.