Voter ID - Levelling-Up Committee questions Electoral Commission and election administrators
On Monday 3 July, the Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (LUHC) Committee will question the Electoral Commission and election administrators on the introduction of voter ID, as part of the current Committee inquiry on electoral registration.
Meeting details
The cross-party group of MPs will examine the Electoral Commission’s initial analysis of the implementation of voter ID at the local elections held on 4 May – the first-time voter ID was required in England.
About 14,000 people were turned away from polling stations at May’s local elections because they lacked the right ID, with the overall number denied a vote likely to be considerably higher, the Electoral Commission has said.
The Committee will also explore the report, published this week, from the Association of Electoral Administrators (AEA) which warned that the next general election could encounter significant problems due to changes to the voting system, including mandatory ID, adding to an already “creaking” system. The AEA said the relatively smooth rollout of the new system at May’s local elections could be “very different” at a general election due to a series of issues, including voter ID.
Questions are likely to focus on the Electoral Commission’s information campaign, how effectively local councils have been able to implement the voter ID changes at polling stations, and explore concerns about the impact on voter turnout and data on those voters who had been turned away because they did not have the requisite ID.
The session is also likely to explore other areas of the Committee’s electoral registration inquiry, including the case for automatic or assisted systems of voter registration, annual canvass reforms, the success of outreach activities, and barriers to boosting levels of voter registration.
In the lead up to the 4 May elections, Clive Betts, Chair of the Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (LUHC) Committee had pressed the Electoral Commission to clarify the decisions taken on voter data collection and explain how they would provide accurate data on voter turnout (Chair letter to Electoral Commission, 28 April, Electoral Commission response, 2 May).
Clive Betts, LUHC Committee Chair, had raised an Urgent Question in the House of Commons (28 April) about arrangements in place to record the number of voters who attend at a polling station and are denied a vote because they are not in possession of valid ID.
Further details on the Chair’s correspondence on voter ID can be found via this news-item.