Election Day (for some)

[blythburgh]

District election here today and a polling station is in the Scouts HQ a few yards down the road. I sit here on the computer and it seems even quieter than usual. Where are the dog walkers etc this morning?

I am not saying everyone has to pass my window to get to the polling station of course. But because east of it there is not a lot before you get to the sea many do pass me to go to vote.

Has the photo ID thing confused people? Are they all so disillusioned by the current Govt. they cannot be bothered? Will there be a later rush?

I live in hope people will vote, preferably not the ones who would vote Tory though lol

[Sarah]

Has the photo ID thing confused people?

This tory leaflet (distributed in a Labour voting area) probably has:



"Local elections 2023: Tories tell people in Labour stronghold they don’t need ID to vote"
https://inews.co.uk/news/local-election ... te-2298695

[pabenny]

That election flyer is a disgraceful distortion of the truth. You can hand in postal votes at polling stations and there are processes for postal voters who have lost their ballot paper. But you absolutely do need ID to vote in person.

That tactic may backfire on the publishers of that flyer. Polling stations are keeping a tally of voters without ID who are turned away - and how many of them return later.

[Sarah]

"One in 18 applications for government voter IDs rejected by councils"

‘We already knew the take up of the government’s alternative photo voter ID scheme was appallingly low.

‘Now we also know that for those who did apply, a relatively high percentage have had their applications rejected.

‘With council election results often hanging on a handful of votes, it is unavoidable not only that the introduction of photo voter ID will depress turnout, but also distort election results.’

https://metro.co.uk/2023/05/03/one-in-1 ... -18719326/

[thinlizard]

Oh dear, you would think that before printing a flyer someone would proof read it first......

Support busnesses

Perhaps they should have included "Improve education"

[pabenny]

I was a poll worker yesterday. At my polling station, every single voter was fully prepared to show ID, and none were the local authority-issued certificates.

The type of area means it's not going to be typical of the country as a whole. Turnout was dismal, though.

[Richard Frost]

Maidstone an area I used to live in. Can't remember exact numbers, heard it this morning. Of those who got to the polling clerks 350 odd presented without Id. All returned later with Id except 22. So very small number failed to vote as per their original intention.

[Sarah]

I was a poll worker yesterday. At my polling station, every single voter was fully prepared to show ID, and none were the local authority-issued certificates.

The type of area means it's not going to be typical of the country as a whole. Turnout was dismal, though.

I'd seen reports that 10% or more potential voters were turned away from some polling stations; also that tellers themselves have turned people away without ID in some cases, making the official statistics under-report how many were really affected.

https://www.itv.com/news/2023-05-04/wid ... enied-vote

"'At age 93 I've never missed voting - but voter ID will force me to for the first time'"

Oonagh Preece first went to a polling station in 1950 and has voted in every local and general election since. But the furious mum of three said the requirement for photo ID at polling stations now excludes her from democracy.

Oonagh, who is battling uterine cancer, is one of two million people in the UK without a form of photo ID accepted at ballot boxes.

Those without were invited to apply for a free voter authority certificate issued by local councils, though only 85,693 did so in time.

https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/politics/ ... e-29873757

[Richard Frost]

"'At age 93 I've never missed voting - but voter ID will force me to for the first time'"

Oonagh Preece first went to a polling station in 1950 and has voted in every local and general election since. But the furious mum of three said the requirement for photo ID at polling stations now excludes her from democracy.

https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/politics/ ... e-29873757

Not strictly true to say "she is excluded from democracy"

It sounds like she knew about it beforehand. If she did, she could have applied for voter ID from her council and she certainly can for elections in the future. She could also apply for a postal vote. So although she may have missed this election she can take a full part in future.

[Sarah]

Yeah, it's tabloid journalism, but most sources seem to agree there were likely many more people like Oonagh Preece that ultimately were prevented from voting in this election as a result of tory rule change, than previously through fraud.