BORIS Johnson’s plans to require photo ID to be shown at polling stations for general elections risks causing confusion for voters in Scotland, campaigners have warned.
Critics of the plans, unveiled in the Queen’s Speech last week, say it will deter marginalised communities from going to the polls and that it is being introduced despite voter fraud being extremely rare.
The SNP has also rejected the idea as “blatant Tory suppression” and pledged it will not be introduced for Scottish elections.
Dr Jessica Garland, director of policy and research at pressure group the Electoral Reform Society, said it was unclear how it would impact on Scotland if the UK Government went ahead with the change.
“The Scottish Government don’t want to have voter ID, but you could have a General Election at the same time as devolved elections, such as local government elections,” she said.
“So there is the potential for voter confusion bringing ID for one election but not another.
“Does that mean de facto those other devolved elections are going to require ID as people are going to be needing it to turn up on the day?
“There is definitely a sense that voter ID could become part of devolved elections despite the [Scottish] government not wanting it and that is a worrying situation.”
Civil society groups including the Electoral Reform Society, Stonewall, Liberty, Operation Black Vote and the National Union of Students called for a rethink and launched a petition to oppose the move.
They said the plans could cost £20 million per General Election and have warned 3.5 million people in the UK currently lack photographic ID.
SNP Westminster depute leader Kirsten Oswald MP said last week: “There is a very real danger that many lower income, ethnic minority and younger people will be prevented from voting to fix a problem that doesn’t exist.
“These laws are designed to suppress votes among groups that traditionally vote against the Tories. It’s a disgrace.”
Former Scottish Tory leader Ruth Davidson also attacked the plans, describing it as “total bollocks” and a solution to a problem that doesn’t exist.
Officials have pointed to ID already being required to vote in Northern Ireland.
Garland said: “I can’t see how anyone could claim it hasn’t affected voter turnout – no-one has done the research and voter turnout has fallen in Northern Ireland on subsequent elections.
“Turnout is affected by a whole range of things, so it’s one of those things – it’s hard to say it has been, it’s hard to say it hasn’t, as there hasn’t been that focused research.
“But we do know from the government’s pilots in English local councils that lots of people were turned away.”
She added: “It’s probably worth noting as well in Northern Ireland there was actually an issue with personation – people turning up to the polling station and finding someone else had used their vote.
“Whereas in the rest of the UK we simply haven’t seen that happening.”
The Cabinet Office claims the move is necessary as there is “inexcusable potential” for someone to cast another’s vote at the polling station and 98% of people already have the ID required.
However, Garland called for the UK Government to “think again” on the plans, adding at a minimum there should be free ID made available, as well as the most expansive range of ID possible permitted to enable voting.
She added: “What we would really like to see is them actually addressing the real problems – the most common is people turning up wanting to vote and not being registered.”
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