Cllr Joe Harris, Leader of the LGA Lib Dem Group, alongside other Liberal Democrat Council Leaders, has written to Secretary of State Michael Gove to raise serious concerns.
Liberal Democrat Council Leaders have warned the government about the risk to next year’s local elections generated by voter ID proposals.
Cllr Joe Harris, Leader of the LGA Lib Dem Group, alongside other Liberal Democrat Council Leaders, has written to Secretary of State Michael Gove to raise serious concerns.
In the letter, Cllr Harris warns:
“The introduction of having to issue the Voter Authority Certificate for those who don’t have other forms of ID will add considerable burden onto Electoral Services Teams at a time when many will be preparing for what is a significant electoral event, namely the local elections in May 2023. Alongside this, it is impossible to know how many applications we will receive and whether the extra resource we have provided will be sufficient for the task”.
He continued:
“We continue to believe that the requirement for voter ID is not necessary and unfair especially on younger people who may not have had the opportunity to acquire ID such as passports or driving licences.
“But we also have problems around the practicality of it. At the time of writing, we have not received details of the “new burden” funding councils will receive to help with the introduction of these regulations. There is therefore a risk that we will not have sufficient resource to meet the full cost – creating further risk to the integrity of the electoral process. There is also concern that the recruitment of staff for polling stations is becoming more difficult and the added responsibility and complexity due to Voter ID may reduce numbers further.
“Should there be any further delay in the introduction of Voter ID, many council teams, through no fault of their own, will struggle to deliver the elections expected of them. The Returning Officer is individually and directly liable for the outcome of elections, and a huge amount is being asked of them professionally and personally. Voters will ultimately be the ones who suffer.
“We would urge Government to delay the introduction of the Voter ID regulations until after May 2023 to allow time for the smooth introduction of the online Voter Authority Certificate system and a public awareness campaign which gives electors time to fully understand how the new rules will affect them. This will also give time for Returning Officers, Electoral Registration Officers and their teams to be fully trained on new systems.
“I fear that not doing so could lead to a situation where some results are legally challenged which would be bad for democracy and could undermine the confidence that the public have in the electoral process.”
ENDS
For more information contact Cllr Joe Harris – [email protected]
