Friday, May 05, 2023
The wrong documents
As many predicted the requirement to present ID at polling stations in England yesterday did not just cause chaos in some areas but actually prevented people from exercising their democratic rights.
And it wasn't just voters being turned away on the day. As the Metro reports, some councils actually rejected up to 15 per cent of applications for the new voter authority certificate.
The paper says that data obtained through Freedom of Information requests found that there have been hundreds of rejected applications, with one local authority rejecting more than a quarter of the applications it received:
76 out of the 230 councils holding elections on Thursday responded to FOI requests and provided data on 16,000 applications – about one in six of the total submitted.
Overall, 889 applications, or 5.55%, were rejected, however the rejections were unevenly spread with some councils not rejecting a single application while others rejected around one in six.
Issues with photographs, not being registered to vote in the first place, or not submitting their national insurance numbers were the most common reasons for rejection.
Meanwhile, on the day itself, the Guardian says that the introduction of voter ID in England left a number of people, often from more marginalised groups, unable to cast ballots in local elections.
The add, however, that opposition MPs and some administrators said a lack of conclusive data collection for the numbers who were unable to vote could mean the problem was notably worse than it appeared:
Anecdotal reports from campaigners, MPs and voters highlighted a series of examples in which people were turned away because they lacked one of the relatively small list of photo ID documents, under the law used for the first time in Thursday’s poll.
These cover slightly more than 8,000 seats across 230 councils in England, including metropolitan, unitary and district authorities, plus four mayoral races.
Tor Udall, a writer in Oxford, said she had been left in tears after watching an older woman with mobility problems refused a vote because her document was not the correct one.
One campaigner said they knew of about a dozen people being unable to vote in a single council area, with other reports saying older voters appeared often involved.
Some voters who are transgender or have transgender partners reported not being able to vote because their documents did not match their new name, having had difficulty applying for the government-issued voter ID certificate.
Clinically vulnerable people reported difficulties due to rules that say voters must remove any face coverings so staff can check their identity, with at least one voter being turned away.
Andrea Barrett, a voter in Hampshire who is immunocompromised, said she was not allowed to vote at her polling station, despite providing photographic ID and a video of her putting on her mask, as she refused to remove her face covering inside.
“I was denied my right to vote in person,” said Andrea. “As an immunosuppressed person, I should have been able to vote safely with appropriate reasonable adjustments in place.”
Mark Oakley, co-leader of the patient campaign group Evusheld for the UK, representing immunocompromised people, said they had heard a number of people had to “dig their heels in and say they weren’t taking off their mask”.
“We know lots of people contacted their local council about this and were told this was the guidance,” he said. “And we know many people said if that was the case then they weren’t even going to go to the polling station as they don’t want to risk it. And by the time people realised what the guidance was, it was too late to apply for a postal vote.
“We knew it was going to be a problem and we flagged it to the Electoral Commission weeks ago.”
So the Tory voter suppression tactics seem to have worked. They will be gutted however, that the new requirements didn't prevent them having a worse-than-expected night at the polls.
And it wasn't just voters being turned away on the day. As the Metro reports, some councils actually rejected up to 15 per cent of applications for the new voter authority certificate.
The paper says that data obtained through Freedom of Information requests found that there have been hundreds of rejected applications, with one local authority rejecting more than a quarter of the applications it received:
76 out of the 230 councils holding elections on Thursday responded to FOI requests and provided data on 16,000 applications – about one in six of the total submitted.
Overall, 889 applications, or 5.55%, were rejected, however the rejections were unevenly spread with some councils not rejecting a single application while others rejected around one in six.
Issues with photographs, not being registered to vote in the first place, or not submitting their national insurance numbers were the most common reasons for rejection.
Meanwhile, on the day itself, the Guardian says that the introduction of voter ID in England left a number of people, often from more marginalised groups, unable to cast ballots in local elections.
The add, however, that opposition MPs and some administrators said a lack of conclusive data collection for the numbers who were unable to vote could mean the problem was notably worse than it appeared:
Anecdotal reports from campaigners, MPs and voters highlighted a series of examples in which people were turned away because they lacked one of the relatively small list of photo ID documents, under the law used for the first time in Thursday’s poll.
These cover slightly more than 8,000 seats across 230 councils in England, including metropolitan, unitary and district authorities, plus four mayoral races.
Tor Udall, a writer in Oxford, said she had been left in tears after watching an older woman with mobility problems refused a vote because her document was not the correct one.
One campaigner said they knew of about a dozen people being unable to vote in a single council area, with other reports saying older voters appeared often involved.
Some voters who are transgender or have transgender partners reported not being able to vote because their documents did not match their new name, having had difficulty applying for the government-issued voter ID certificate.
Clinically vulnerable people reported difficulties due to rules that say voters must remove any face coverings so staff can check their identity, with at least one voter being turned away.
Andrea Barrett, a voter in Hampshire who is immunocompromised, said she was not allowed to vote at her polling station, despite providing photographic ID and a video of her putting on her mask, as she refused to remove her face covering inside.
“I was denied my right to vote in person,” said Andrea. “As an immunosuppressed person, I should have been able to vote safely with appropriate reasonable adjustments in place.”
Mark Oakley, co-leader of the patient campaign group Evusheld for the UK, representing immunocompromised people, said they had heard a number of people had to “dig their heels in and say they weren’t taking off their mask”.
“We know lots of people contacted their local council about this and were told this was the guidance,” he said. “And we know many people said if that was the case then they weren’t even going to go to the polling station as they don’t want to risk it. And by the time people realised what the guidance was, it was too late to apply for a postal vote.
“We knew it was going to be a problem and we flagged it to the Electoral Commission weeks ago.”
So the Tory voter suppression tactics seem to have worked. They will be gutted however, that the new requirements didn't prevent them having a worse-than-expected night at the polls.
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> some councils actually rejected up to 15 per cent of applications for the new voter authority certificate
As predicted. There were no doubt also delays in processing the certificates so that they will be issued after yesterday's poll.
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As predicted. There were no doubt also delays in processing the certificates so that they will be issued after yesterday's poll.
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