Voter ID: ‘No evidence’ to justify plan to require photographic proof of identity at ballot box, politics professor says

‘There’s a very significant risk that this is going to lead to people not being able to vote,’ says Toby James

There is no evidence to support the government’s introduction of voter ID requirements at polling stations, a politics professor has said.

Toby James, head of politics at the University of East Anglia, told The Independent that vote fraud was “exceptionally rare” and that “the problems are elsewhere”.

On Monday plans were announced in the Queen’s Speech that would require voters to produce photographic ID at the ballot box for parliamentary elections and English local elections.

The government said it was intended to prevent fraud and “protect our democracy”.

Professor James said: “Electoral fraud, or suspicions of electoral fraud, are exceptionally rare.

“In most cases where there are problems, they’re not a citizen fraudulently trying to cast an invalid vote, it is more concern about the franchise.

“The problem that occurs instead is people turning up wanting to vote but finding their name isn’t on the electoral register.

“There is no evidence, really, to justify the introduction of voter ID requirements. The problems are elsewhere. There’s a very significant risk that this is going to lead to people not being able to vote.”

In particular, millions of people are not registered to vote, he said.

However, other measures announced by the government were “very sensible and proportionate”, said Prof James, who has previously given evidence to parliament on voter ID proposals.

An “imprints regime” will be instituted to govern online election material and “make it clearer to voters who has produced and promoted” it – after widespread controversy over the use of social media for targeted campaigns.

In a related move, ministers will consult on measures to protect elections from foreign interference.

It comes after a pilot of the ID scheme was carried out during local elections in 2018, when British citizens were denied their right to vote for the first time because they could not produce the required documents.

In 2017, a University of California study found that strict voter ID laws in the US tended to “skew democracy in favour of whites and those on the political right”.

Ed Miliband, the former Labour leader, called the Conservative plans “such an obvious US voter suppression move”, while Jeremy Corbyn tweeted: “The people the Tories are trying to stop voting will be disproportionately poor and from ethnic minority backgrounds.”

A Cabinet Office spokeswoman said: “Electoral fraud is an unacceptable crime that strikes at a core principle of our democracy.

“Showing ID to vote is a reasonable and proportionate way to protect our elections – it is something people already do in everyday life and voters in Northern Ireland have been doing it with ease for decades.

“Voter ID is one part of a body of work this government is delivering to give the public confidence that our elections are secure and fit for the 21st century.”

In a briefing note circulated in advance of the Queen’s Speech, the government said its move was based on a 2016 review of elections by Eric Pickles.

The Independent understands the rules will be introduced by way of primary legislation with a view to passing a bill before the next scheduled general election in 2022.