Do you have valid photo ID to show staff working at polling stations on the 4 May?

Sixteen per cent of respondents to Devon County Council’s poll were unaware of Government’s photo ID rule, to vote in next month’s local elections.

A straw-poll that we conducted on social media last week, has found that 16 per cent of the 352 respondents, have not heard of the Government’s new rules requiring voters to show a valid form of photographic identification (photo ID) when they cast their votes at polling stations next month.

The same number of people had heard about the new requirement, but don’t have the correct identification.

Sixty seven per cent of responses had heard about the rules and do already have an accepted form of identification.

The Government introduced the rule last year. The Cabinet Office website says:

“In our current electoral system, there is inexcusable potential for someone to cast another’s vote at the polling station. All you need to do is say a name and address when you go to vote. Showing identification to prove who they are is something people of all walks of life already do every day. It is a reasonable and proportionate approach to extend this practice to voting and give the public confidence that their vote is theirs, and theirs alone.”

Proving one’s identify brings the rest of the UK in line with Northern Ireland, where photo identification to vote has been required since 2003.

So are you ready? Do you have valid photo ID to show staff working at polling stations on the 4 May?

Photo ID that will be accepted include:

various concessionary travel passes

driver’s licences

passports

photocard parking permits issued as part of the Blue Badge scheme

and other identification, such as the Proof of Age Standards Scheme (PASS), or Ministry of Defence identity cards.

Expired forms of identification will be accepted as long as the photograph is a good enough likeness.

If you have none of these, or you no longer look like the photo on your identification, you may need to apply for a Voter Authority Certificate.

If your name on your photo identification is different to your name on the electoral register, you can register to vote again or take a document with you to vote that proves that you have changed your name. Or you can apply for a free Voter Authority Certificate.

And it’s not too late. Applications to receive a Voter Authority Certificate before the 4 May elections in England, need to be made by 5pm on Tuesday 25 April.

It’s free to apply online or by post, and you’ll need:

a recent, digital photo of yourself

your National Insurance number

Devon County Council libraries are also helping people apply if they need assistance. Just go along to your nearest Devon County Council library and ask to use one of the public access computers to make your application, and staff will help if they can.

District Council offices are also helping people with their applications for the Voter Authority Certificate.

A spokesman for the County Council said:

“We ran a quick straw-poll over one week to find out roughly whether people are aware of the Government’s new requirement, or not. And if they were, whether they have the required ID.

“Our findings show that 16 per cent – or getting on for 2 in every 5 of the people who responded to our straw-poll – weren’t aware of the new rules. A same number, who were aware of the new rules, said that they don’t have the required form of ID.

“We’re raising the issue because it’s important for democracy that people take the opportunity to vote in their local elections and future elections and referendums. 

“Voters who do not produce a Voter Authority Certificate, or valid photo identification, risk not being allowed to vote on the day.”

For more information, visit the Electoral Commission’s website. Voter ID | Electoral Commission