16,000 People Didn’t Vote in General Election Owing to ID Requirement: Watchdog

Around 16,000 people across the UK were unable to vote in the July general election owing to the requirement to show ID at a polling station, the Electoral Commission has found. Under the Elections Act 2022, voters now need to present an ID at the polling station. With the new rules in place at the time of the July 4 vote, 87 percent of people were aware of the requirement, the commission found. However, 0.08 percent of people who showed up at polling stations weren’t able to cast their vote because they didn’t have an accepted form of ID. “This was the first time all voters across the UK were required to show photographic ID at a general election, and the data shows almost everyone was able to do so successfully. However, our research shows that the need for ID discouraged some people from voting – and we don’t want to see any voters lose their say,” said Electoral Commission Chief Executive Vijay Rangarajan....