‘Democracy is stronger when more people take part’: Voter ID and ‘Victorian system’ may stop millions from voting in 2024
By Charlotte Elton
POLITICS
Strict voter ID requirements and a crumbling electoral registration system may stop millions of people from voting this year, experts have warned – with “dangerous” consequences for democracy.
It’s a big election year in the UK. Londoners will vote for a new mayor on 2 May, and a general election before the end of autumn is looking increasingly likely. But many people won’t be able to take part, new research shows.
Millions of people are missing from the electoral roll, the cross-party Levelling Up, Housing and Communities Committee has revealed.
The registration gap is a “major and fundamental defect” in Britain’s “Victorian” electoral registration system, said committee chair Clive Betts.
“Elections are the cornerstone of our democracy and yet we are burdened by a system which is both ineffective and inefficient, where millions of people are disenfranchised because they are incorrectly registered or not on the electoral register,” he said.
Many voters – who may be signed up to vote at an old address or struggling with insecure accommodation – don’t know that they aren’t registered until polling day, said Dr Jess Garland, director of research and policy for the Electoral Reform Society (ERS).
“In many countries, when you move to a new area and you’re paying council tax, you’re automatically put on the voting register,” she explained. A lot of people think that happens here. But you have to register separately, and people – particularly people who move around a lot, like renters – can get caught out.”
A separate ERS study found more than a fifth of voters in the worst-impacted constituencies – London and Westminster, Liverpool Riverside, and Leeds Central and Headingly – are “missing” from the electoral roll. Such huge gaps are unacceptable, said Garland. And new voter ID requirements will make things worse. Under rules introduced last year, voters across the UK are required to show photographic identification before being given their ballot paper. Voter ID was already an established part of elections in Northern Ireland.
The changes were intended to crack down on voter impersonation, the government has claimed. But there were just 33 allegations at the 2019 election – equivalent to 0.000057% of votes. Just two individuals were ultimately cautioned by police.
“Fraud
