Harlow Labour slam plans for Voter ID to be required at future elections
News / Thu 10th Nov 2022 at 09:25am
THE LEADER of Harlow Labour has slammed the decision to require residents to produce Voter ID at future elections.
YH spoke to councillor Chris Vince.
A Harlow Council spokesperson said: “The Government has introduced new voter security measures under the Elections Act 2022. This means that for the first time voters will have to show photo ID at the polling station to vote in next May’s Harlow Council elections.
“Acceptable ID will include a passport, photo driving licence or a national concessionary bus pass. The full list of acceptable IDs will be on the back of a new poll card. Anyone without suitable photo identification will be able to apply for a Voter Authority Certificate (VAC) from January 2023. This will be via the Gov.uk website. Paper versions will also be allowed, and these will be posted direct to voters. Full details of this process will be published in the new year as part of a public information campaign the council will be running.”
The introduction of mandatory voter ID is set to cost £180 million to implement over 10 years.
Click below for an article by Byline Times.
Lostinthemiddle
2022-11-10 11:57:45
Sorry I don’t agree. How do we know it’s a problem that doesn’t exist if we’ve never measured it? Wasn’t it a massive problem in one London borough where voter fraud was actually very high to the point where the election result was voided in a council vote? Surely this has minimal impact on people, if you can’t prove who you are why should you be allowed to vote? Most people will carry some form of ID anyway. It’s not as big a barrier as you think. More important barriers to overcome are negative politics and saying everything the opposition is bad, whatever party you are in. Tell people what is good and what could be done different, not just attack everything because you are not in power. Again bringing up the point that the public didn’t vote for the current PM, ignoring the fact the country never has, you vote for an MP and the leader of the most popular party is the PM. That’s how you engage people, stop the nonsense, voter ID is a very minor problem.
Dave
2022-11-10 12:06:48
Ive never understood why this has never been implemented before. I can’t pick up and order and collect without Id but i can place a vote…
Toby Le Rone
2022-11-10 13:03:05
Only Labour would be against voter ID. One of the reasons why they remain unelectable I guess. I appriciacate Labour have been involved in vote rigging in London, but 99% of people carry ID & would welcome tighter voting regulations. Only Labour ......
James
2022-11-10 13:28:04
Interesting that it was Labour, under Tony Blair that was strongly advocating the introduction of national ID cards. Many democratic countries have voter ID cards or require satisfactory proof of identity. We have these requirements for opening bank accounts and many other regular activities. We have seen many instances of increasing voting fraud, principally in Labour areas in recent years. If Harlow Labour truly aspire to democratic integrity, why would they oppose measures to ensure fairness and transparency? What is their agenda?
Steven Everard
2022-11-10 13:45:26
What a huge waste of money.
Voteforme
2022-11-10 14:30:33
I don't have a problem with ID cards-I already have a number of cards -library, bus pass, drivers licence, leisurezone (hope this is on the list). Chris, if you are objecting on cost grounds then I agree with you, if its on political grounds then I don't. As for election fraud, I think its the electorate that has been defrauded. Robert Halfon was forever promising lower taxes, and us pensioners were promised the triple lock. And, of course, a wonderful Brexit.
James
2022-11-10 15:01:42
Voter ID was a 2019 manifesto commitment to combat electoral fraud and strengthen the integrity of the system. Furthermore, this nothing new; voter ID has been operating in Northern Ireland since 2003. There are no reasons to not extend this to the rest of the UK.
David Forman
2022-11-10 15:02:21
Many years ago I worked in the Netherlands and had to have a national identity card to access state services and to vote in municipal elections. I checked today and they still require a driver's licence, an ID card or passport to vote. I don't see why Mr Vince is moaning, unless of course Labour likes to benefit from electoral fraud?
Theman
2022-11-10 16:18:15
A few years ago there was an election in Northampton. The voter fraud was so bad people actually went to jail in the end. I will not mention which party they represented, but you can probably guess. I welcome voter ID and would like to see postal votes made more secure.
James
2022-11-10 16:59:59
Areas where there has been recorded fraud: Bradford, Tower Hamlets, Peterborough. What is the common denominator? Labour.
Pauline
2022-11-11 14:23:11
I fully agree with David Foreman - why complain?
Peter
2022-11-13 23:57:42
The very same labour party that insists on photo ID to attend it's annual conference.
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