The British government is preparing for a move that’s common practice elsewhere: it is subject to providing a photo ID in order to be able to vote in the general election. This would be enshrined in law, as it would be JustifiesTo anticipate the possibility of electoral fraud. However, critics of the change in electoral rules are already burying democracy in the UK.
Until now, it was only sufficient that the name and address were mentioned at the polling stations, and the voter could actually complain. However, according to the initiators of the change, this measure provides an opportunity to steal votes.
However, civil society organizations see this
The proposed amendment would discriminate against members of ethnic and working class minorities, who often do not possess a photo ID.
a WatchmanIt is separate Opinion article He also criticized the planned electoral reform, stressing that the new rule could deter a quarter of potential voters from appearing at the polls at all, such as young people who do not have a passport or license. It is true that local governments are planned to require free voter ID cards before the elections, which eliminates this problem. But critics aren’t convinced of that either.
According to the Guardian owner: „Expensive and Any “unnecessary” step that would exclude millions of voters from the election, and the cause of election fraud, well, has not been sufficiently proven.
If election fraud was a real problem, the British would already know it, because they would be faced with hundreds on Election Day by someone already voting on their behalf. For example, of the 595 suspected electoral fraud cases investigated in 2019, only 33 were found to have voted in favor of theft.
That, in turn, represents a fraction of the 58 million votes cast that year, 0.000057 percent.
According to the author of the article, there is also a major criticism that many legitimate voters do not have an ID.
In the UK, 11 million people do not have a photo ID because it is not required to have it, and there is no free or cheap ID.
When the British government provides a model for other countries, Ergo forgets to note that there are essentially mandatory personalities and that the state bears the fees for their exhibition. Therefore, The Guardian believes that the poorest and already marginalized groups are the most deprived under the new law, and excludes them from British democracy.
The electoral reform plan sparked discontent even from some conservatives, with former Brexit Minister David Davis saying it was all “an illiberal solution to a problem that does not exist”.