Voter ID

[Workingman]

It has been proved time and again that voting fraud exists - it's real.

The government's and the Electoral Commission's solution is for voters to have photo ID. Opponents say that is discriminatory against 15% of the population who have no such ID when voter fraud is only at about 1%. Fraud at that level in seats where the majority is measured in the thousands is probably not such a big deal, but what about marginals?

I think that a half-way house method where a voter turns up with their voting card and something like a utility bill, council tax letter or bank statement for the same address would make a decent stop-gap method.

TBH I am more worried by postal and electronic votes than Dave turning up and pretending to be Bob then voting X instead of Y.

[cromwell]

Yes, me too. Some form of ID check should be introduced imo, but also imo postal voting is wide open to fraud and should be tackled first.

[Suff]

That's OK for the person who pays the bills. What does the other partner do? Or the person who lives in sheltered accommodation and has rent but no utility bills.?

I did think about this. Because the Government issued ID is the only reliable ID I have for this kind of thing.

Then there are people like me who do everything online, will they accept a printed E-bill?

Then we have the crazy situation where someone like Ryanair will accept a student card as I'd for A UK internal flight but not a military I'D card.

Somehow I can't see it working without a Government ID card. Something that will win nobody any votes.

I also agree that any form of distance voting, be it postal or anything else, is a risk to the voting system and the more it is done, the greater the risk.

[Workingman]

I don't think that I have ever seen a Ryanair plane used as a Polling Station...

Just about everyone of voting age can lay their hands on some form of official document addressed to them. Even if they can't they can apply to the government for a free official letter of ID. You turn up with your voter card and letter and vote - no problem. Anyway, it is only a stop-gap till photo ID comes in and that could take years.