More than 2,500 people across Bath and North East Somerset may not have the right photo ID to vote in the upcoming local elections, figures obtained by the Lib Dems have revealed.
New regulations have been introduced which mean voters will have to show photo identification at polling stations this year, however as many as 2% of the population are estimated to not have one of the ‘accepted’ forms of ID and could risk not being able to vote.
The new laws have been branded “unjustified” by campaigners, who say voter ID is a “solution in search of a problem” given the low level of fraud across the country.
No cases of voter fraud have been reported in Bath and North East Somerset at recent elections. This includes polls held to pick new councillors, MPs and the Police and Crime Commissioner.
There is also no evidence of significant electoral fraud anywhere in the UK, according to the Electoral Commission. In 2019 there was just one conviction for in-person voter fraud in the country and there were none in 2020 or 2021.
The new legislation has been opposed by public sector organisations including the Local Government Association, as well as local Liberal Democrat campaigners.
Councillor Jess David commented: “We obtained information that 2% of electors nationally do not have one of the accepted identification documents. In B&NES this would be around 2,700 voters.
“Local authorities can issue a special photo ID, called a Voter Authority Certificate. However, Bath and North East Somerset Council has received only a few dozen applications so far.
“This means as many as 2,663 local residents may not have photo ID and could be prevented from voting on 4th May.
“We’re calling on all B&NES residents to act now and protect their right to vote. Residents who don’t have photo ID can apply for a Voter Authority Certificate from the council or a postal vote.”
Councillor Mark Elliott said: “Voter fraud is almost unheard of in the UK, which begs the question: why has the Conservative government imposed voter ID requirements? It will inconvenience many people and risks stopping some people from voting.
“It’s a pointless and unjustified and costly change in the law, which only serves to suppress the vote and disenfranchise residents who don’t have the ‘right’ form of ID.”
Bath MP Wera Hobhouse added: “These voter ID laws will be devastating and amount to an ill-thought out, ill-judged subversion of the democratic process.
“There was a singular conviction of voter fraud out of 47.5 million votes at the last election. That represents just 0.0000021014% of the total votes.
“Any Government attempt to claim that these changes needed to come in to protect electoral integrity fall completely apart.
“To add insult to injury, during a cost of living crisis, Ministers thought it would be wise to spend millions in taxpayers’ money to solve a non-existent problem. The whole scheme is frankly offensive.
“I can only encourage people to apply for postal vote. For those without photo ID, applying for a postal vote is the safest way to ensure that you can have your say in our democracy.
“A say that this Government should absolutely not be putting in jeopardy.”