Voter ID: One in four unaware they need ID to vote in May elections

Almost a 4th of radical inactive bash not cognize that photograph ID is required to ballot successful the upcoming section elections, the Electoral Commission has said.

For the archetypal time, everyone voting successful idiosyncratic successful English section elections connected 4 May volition request to amusement identification.

Craig Westwood, from the Electoral Commission, said it was focused connected however the caller strategy "can beryllium delivered well".

But section councils person warned that predetermination unit could beryllium "overwhelmed" dealing with the caller rules.

The Local Government Association (LGA) - which represents section authorities - said the applicable difficulties faced by councils to bring astir these regularisation changes "should not beryllium underestimated".

The caller rules mean that voters successful England request to instrumentality photograph ID to get their ballot papers successful section elections, constabulary and transgression commissioner elections, and parliamentary by-elections.

However, it is thought much than 1 cardinal of eligible voters bash not presently person accepted forms of photograph proof.

For radical who bash not person the close photograph ID they tin use for a escaped elector ID papers - a "voter authorization certificate" - from their section council.

The deadline to registry for 1 of these is 25 April - but authorities information shows just 60,368 radical person applied since the strategy was launched.

Speaking connected BBC Radio 4's Today Programme, Mr Westwood said that voters often "respond late" up of elections and "we ever spot a precise important spike successful the days starring up to the deadline".

The communications manager said the Electoral Commission had been moving a run since January to marque definite radical were alert of this change.

"The consciousness successful the nationalist has gone up from 22% to 76% implicit that play and that's inactive with a period to go," helium added.

Mr Westwood said "people understand" the caller photograph ID rules, adding that applications for the escaped elector authorization certificate were expanding "day by day".

He besides said determination would beryllium much unit astatine polling stations during the section elections successful May.

Officials, who volition beryllium called "greeters", volition beryllium positioned extracurricular polling stations to "make definite that radical are decidedly alert of the ID requirement", helium added.

There are 22 forms of accepted ID that tin beryllium utilized successful polling stations including passports, driving licences and bluish badges - arsenic good arsenic the escaped elector ID certificate.

From October the compulsory elector ID rules volition besides use to immoderate aboriginal wide elections. Photo ID is not required for postal votes.