PLANS to introduce photographic ID at the ballot box is an attempt by the government to “suppress voter turnout”, St Helens Labour has claimed.
In the Queen’s Speech on Monday, plans were unveiled to launch a new scheme that will require voters to produce photo ID for parliamentary elections and English local elections.
This prompted shadow voting minister Cat Smith to brand the move as a “blatant attempt by the Tories to rig the result of the next general election”.
The controversial voter ID policy was trialled in 10 areas of the country at the local elections in May, with hundreds of people reportedly being turned away.
Voter ID is intended to tackle electoral fraud and is among a number of electoral changes the government is seeking to introduce.
However, the St Helens Labour group said voter fraud is a “non-issue” and accused the government of introducing an “unnecessary barrier” for voters.
A spokesman for St Helens Labour group said: “These proposals from Boris Johnson are deeply worrying.
“Voting fraud is a non-issue. Out of millions of votes cast in the UK last year there were only eight allegations of personation fraud.
“The government’s heavy-handed approach seems designed purely to suppress voter turnout.
“The requirement to produce photo ID would particularly affect elderly and vulnerable voters, and puts an unnecessary barrier in the way of people simply trying to carry out their democratic right.
“Rather than make voting more difficult, we should be trying to increase turnout, and tackle real threats to the integrity of our elections such as large corporate donations, foreign interference, and abuse of online data and advertising.”
St Helens Conservative group leader Allan Jones has backed the new scheme, adding that those who oppose it “could have something to hide”.
“I am all in favour of voter identification,” Cllr Jones said.
“As we know, in the past, all over the country there has been suggestions of voter fraud and people voting for other people, particularly with postal votes.
“I am not saying this is happening in St Helens but we have had rumours of it happening all over the country.
“If there are those that don’t want to have voter ID then they could have something to hide.”
Under the new scheme, anyone who does not have photographic ID will be able to apply for a free document proving their identity.
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