What photo ID do you need to vote in UK elections?

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Polling presumption    motion   and a British passport

Voters who don't person an accepted signifier of photograph ID to amusement astatine polling stations person until Tuesday to use for an alternative.

People successful England volition request to amusement photograph ID earlier being allowed to ballot successful section elections connected Thursday.

Those who don't person an acceptable papers tin use for a elector authorization certificate.

The authorities says the caller rules volition assistance forestall elector fraud but critics assertion the changes volition marque it harder for immoderate to vote.

What are the caller elector ID rules?

Voters volition request to amusement photograph ID to get their ballot insubstantial successful polling stations astatine section elections, constabulary and transgression commissioner elections, and parliamentary by-elections.

From October the requirements volition besides use to immoderate aboriginal wide elections.

You don't request to amusement ID if voting by post.

What documents tin you usage arsenic photograph ID?

  • passports
  • driving licences
  • Older oregon Disabled Person's autobus passes
  • Oyster 60+ cards

You tin usage out-of-date ID arsenic agelong arsenic you look the same.

Why bash I request ID to vote?

The authorities said the measurement would halt votes being stolen, though this is rather antithetic successful the UK.

Since 2018, determination person been 1,386 cases of alleged electoral fraud reported to the police, according to the Electoral Commission. These led to 9 convictions and six constabulary cautions.

The committee said successful the past 5 years determination had been "no grounds of large-scale electoral fraud", though immoderate Conservative MPs assertion the statistic underplay the issue.

What if I don't person an acceptable signifier of ID?

You could speech a insubstantial driving licence for a photocard oregon use for a photocard question walk if you're aged 60 oregon over, disabled, oregon registered unsighted oregon partially-sighted.

But if you don't person the close photograph ID, oregon the representation doesn't look similar you anymore, you tin use for a escaped elector ID document, known arsenic a Voter Authority Certificate.

You request to supply your name, day of birth, address, and a caller passport-style integer photograph.

You volition besides beryllium asked for your National Insurance number but if you don't cognize it, oregon don't person one, a commencement certificate, slope connection oregon inferior measure volition do.

How bash I use for a elector ID document?

You indispensable person already applied to ballot successful person. The deadline for doing truthful successful England successful clip for the May section elections was 17 April.

If you person registered, you tin use for a voter ID papers online oregon by post. earlier 17:00 BST connected Tuesday.

Why has elector ID been criticised?

The program was enactment guardant by the Conservative-led authorities to "protect the integrity of the ballot box".

Although astir radical person immoderate signifier of accepted photograph ID, an estimated 2 cardinal radical don't, and absorption MPs judge the changes volition marque it much hard for them to vote.

The Electoral Commission warned the caller rules hazard creating a obstruction to those who ballot anonymously and radical who are disabled, older, experiencing homelessness, trans oregon non-binary, oregon from Gypsy, Roma oregon Traveller backgrounds.

The Electoral Reform Society has suggested younger voters mightiness beryllium disproportionately affected - highlighting that older radical tin usage autobus passes and 60+ Oyster cards arsenic ID but young radical can't usage their railcards oregon pupil Oyster cards.

The Local Government Association (LGA) - which represents section authorities - besides says the applicable difficulties faced by councils enforcing ID checks connected polling time "should not beryllium underestimated".

Has elector ID been tried before?

In England, it was trialled astatine the 2018 and 2019 section elections.

In some years, participating councils required voters to bring a signifier of identification.

The Electoral Commission said galore of the radical who were initially refused a ballot for not having ID did instrumentality with it later, and the fig of those that didn't was reasonably small.

Photo ID has been mandatory successful Northern Ireland since 2003. A escaped electoral ID paper was created.

Most European countries necessitate each residents to person nationalist ID successful immoderate lawsuit which is utilized successful assorted situations, including voting.

In the US, 35 states necessitate immoderate signifier of ID to ballot but lone astir fractional of those specify it indispensable beryllium photograph ID.

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