Agenda

Motion for Time Limited Debate – Opposing mandatory Voter ID proposals in the Elections Bill

Proposer: Richard Streatfeild

Seconder: Trudy Dean

Background information – Provided by the Liberal Democrat Group

The Elections Bill is currently working through parliament, which in its current form will include provision for those wishing to vote to provide photographic ID at polling stations. A Cabinet Office-commissioned study released in May that found more than 2 million voters could lack the necessary ID to take part in future elections. The Electoral Reform Society has said the plans could lead to “disenfranchisement on an industrial scale”.

In 2019, nationally and across Local, European, Parliamentary and Mayoral elections, 58 million votes were cast. Of these, there were just 33 allegations of impersonation which resulted in one conviction and one caution for people casting votes illegally. Clearly issues around voter fraud are not endemic within the current system, and there are already robust measures in place to tackle this as and when it occurs.

The costs of the new measures are estimated by government to be £8.5m a year, and the cross-party Local Government Association have noted the serious capacity and resilience implications for councils, including the risk that identity checks and the possible refusal of votes may make election staff recruitment even harder than it is already.

Motion

The Council recognises the significant cost implications and potential voter disenfranchisement that introducing mandatory voter ID will have on the democratic process.  The Council therefore asks the Leader of the Council to write to all Kent MPs, noting the Council’s opposition to the voter ID proposals and asking them to support any amendments to the Bill which would remove these provisions, ensuring that disadvantaged communities do not face barriers to engaging with the democratic process.

The Council also commits not to volunteer to take part in any pilots which will require mandatory voter ID.