Official study says pilot went smoothly overall but Labour calls for scheme to be dropped

About 750 people were denied a vote at May’s local elections because of a controversial trial scheme to oblige people in some areas to show ID before casting a ballot, an official study has shown.

While the Electoral Commission, which carried out the research, said the trial in 10 local authority areas in England seemed to have gone smoothly overall, Labour said the scale of the issue meant the government must abandon the scheme.

Overall the study found up to 2,083 people were initially turned away for not having the necessary ID with them, and as many as 758 never returned. As a proportion of all votes cast this ranged from 0.7% in two areas, Craven and Pendle, to 0.03% in Mid Sussex.

While ministers have said compulsory voter ID is necessary to avoid fraud, critics say there is little evidence of voter impersonation, while ID requirements can particularly put off more vulnerable groups such as older people or those with disabilities.

The report said charities that had raised concerns about the scheme represented people with learning disabilities, as well as those without a fixed address, and the BAME, LGBT, and Gypsies and traveller communities.

The commission said that in Derby, one of the trial areas, there was a strong correlation between the numbers of people denied a vote in particular wards and the proportion of that ward’s population who were from an Asian background. However, in Pendle this correlation was much weaker, it said.

The study said that overall it was impossible to draw definitive conclusions from the pilots – an initial trial in five areas took place at the 2018 local elections – about what might happen if they were used nationally or particularly at a general election, where a much greater range of people would be taking part.

While the trials showed the schemes seemed to make people believe the voting process was more secure, a series of factors would need to be considered, including what sort of ID was needed.

The study also said opinion polls among people who did not vote showed 1% of them said it was because they did not have the right ID.

These findings and the concerns about access to ID among some groups “raise questions about the effects of an ID requirement at future elections”, the report said.

The government has argued there is no reason why people should not show ID to vote, given they are expected to do so in areas of life such as picking up parcels, and that such a system has been used in Northern Ireland for some years.

But critics say the scheme is an expensive and damaging waste of time, given the very low rates of voter impersonation. Ahead of the first round of trials it emerged that none of the five boroughs taking part had experienced a single instance of polling station impersonation in the past decade.

Cat Smith, Labour’s shadow Cabinet Office minister for voter engagement, said: “It is now clear that the government’s fixation with voter ID is a blatant attempt by the Tories to rig the result of future elections by voter suppression.

“For years Labour warned that restrictive identification requirements will make it harder for people to vote. But the government refused to listen, denying countless citizens a voice in our democratic process.”