The UK Government has announced a multimillion-pound plan that would stop people from voting in elections unless they can show photo identification (ID).
This is a terrible move that will badly impact voters who are from underrepresented and marginalised backgrounds.
Please don’t tell me it’s not about voter suppression when, for example, an over-60’s Oyster travel card will be considered ID and an over-18’s will not.
The argument against voter ID is clear: with very few cases of voter fraud, photo ID verification on a national scale would see many more people left out of the decision-making process.
“Voter fraud is not a big enough problem to justify disenfranchising millions of people”
The numbers make this obvious. Currently, 3.5 million people do not have access to photo ID and 11 million people do not have a passport or driving licence.
A government minister admitted there were just six cases of voter fraud at the last election. It’s not a big enough problem to justify disenfranchising millions of people.
Trials in just 10 UK areas, in 2019, saw 2,000 voters turned away from the polling station. On a national scale, this would see many left out from voting – most likely those who do not traditionally engage in politics or do not have a form of photo ID.
Our government should be helping people to get involved in politics, and having their voices heard at the ballot box, not making the situation worse. Everyone deserves their right to vote, regardless of whether they possess a form of photo ID or not.