Election monitors note instances of voters in England turned away over ID
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2026/may/07/local-elections-england-monitors-voters-id
Posted by mrjohnnymac18
Election monitors note instances of voters in England turned away over ID
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2026/may/07/local-elections-england-monitors-voters-id
Posted by mrjohnnymac18
25 Comments
.. And?
It’s not hard. It’s not secret. It’s not some grand conspiracy to disenfranchise swathes of the population.
ID required for years in Northern Ireland and never been an issue, but somehow its a massive problem in England.
A solution to a problem that didn’t exist, they should just scrap this.
I mean just sign up for postal voting and then the deliver it to your door.
This isn’t new.. you needed it last time too.
The conspiracies people spin are fascinating.
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Honestly I’m glad I can stop hearing those damn radio ads about remembering your ID for voting
Not as bad as the gambling ones though
I was turned away this morning! Perhaps the polling card had a reminder on it but I’d lost that.
Fortunately I live really close to the polling station so going back home and grabbing my wallet with my driving licence wasn’t a problem.
Still, why is this a thing? What a stupid law. I bet some people would just not bother going back, and I bet that’s far more people than would try any funny business.
Good? If people don’t even care enough to know this is a basic requirement they shouldn’t have a say in how the country is run, obviously.
Its not like not been mentioned endless in run up to election that voter ID is required.
Yet people still forgot to bring ID.
Just gonna throw this out there. Polling shows 73% of the public support in person voter ID despite 87% believing there is no risk of fraud for in person voting. Anyone confused by this perhaps is unfamiliar with the phrase, better safe than sorry.
I was just waiting for the racism of low expectations articles about how anyone from a minority is somehow too inept/ poor/ oppressed to own some form of ID and that’s why x party lost. Guardian never disappoints
I got turned away because my provisional driving licence had my old address on it.
it amuses me you have a whole bunch who fully support mandatory ID noting the EU largely has it and claim objections are conspiracies – but also object to voter ID
and then you have people who object to mandatory ID for a whole raft of reasons, but also want voter ID
I do not mind people who cannot follow basic instructions failing to vote successfully.
You cannot spoon feed reformers. Appreciating some may have made it out of bed what else are we going to do? Wipe the dribble from their mouths?
Interesting how we didn’t need ID in Wales. I took it with me but was told it was unnecessary.
Next general election you’ll be able to use a bank card
I don’t get how this is hard. I literally used a foreign passport to vote today. Just take some ID.
If you weren’t paying enough attention to pick up on the requirement for this, you weren’t paying enough attention to vote.
I’m in favour of voter ID BUT also mandatory voting..
That said this isn’t on if actually happening.
Yeah, obviously, because it’s the law. What next, dogs can’t vote either?
Voter Id was a requirement brought in by Boris Johnson’s Conservative government in 2022, it’s not new and it’s not by the current government
Its not a shock. I am fully aware of people that voted on there way to work. They do not take id with them. So they do not vote.
This feels like a great example of the Oppression Olympics that some people try to play on behalf of others.
A provisional licence is 34 quid. A Citizen Card is 18 quid. A passport is 102 quid.
If you are older then you can use blue badges, bus passes, etc.
The value that you get from having at least one of these is so immense that realistically I think if you have none of them voting is the least of your problems. If I were in that situation as an adult I would turn the news off, lock in, and sort my life out.