Voters across England will be turned away from polling stations today for lacking ID

May 4th 2023 was a historic local election for all the wrong reasons. For the first time, voters in England were turned away from polling stations as they lacked the right forms of ID.

The government estimates that over 2 million people lack the ID they are now demanding, meaning many potential voters found themselves affected.

Have you been turned away from a polling station?

Make sure you share your experience, we’d love to hear what happened, but also share it on any social media accounts you have.

Possessing ID was no guarantee that you will make it to the polling booth. We’ve already heard some terrible stories:

Allison, a Police Officer, was turned away. 

“I went to vote on my way home from work. I only had my Police Warrant card. It was refused. They told me to go home and come back with a government issued ID! I didn’t. They lost my vote. If my warrant card can enable me to identify myself in my duty to execute the law for the crown and government it should’ve been recognised to vote, especially when I read some people can use just a bus pass!”

Peter, retired, was turned away.

“I did not have an ID on the list and no time to apply for it. I have a driving licence with no photo which is legal to drive but not acceptable. I showed my council photo ID which is acceptable as an ID in every school but that was not acceptable. I was personally known to three people in the hall administrating the voting who could vouch for who I was but not acceptable.”

Debbie, a nurse, was turned away.

“They would not accept my NHS ID with my photo on the front. They looked up and said it was not on the list of what they could accept so I walked away and they all just sat there. They didn’t really know what to say.”

The government seems to think Police Warrant cards, Council ID cards and NHS ID cards aren’t secure enough to vote, yet are secure enough to arrest people, access schools and administer drugs in hospitals.

We believe their stories are reflected across the country, the Government just made voting harder. That is wrong, voting is a right, not a privilege and every voter turned away is one too many. 

The government need to u-turn before the General Election

We don’t need voter ID, join over 125,000 who have already signed our petition to ask the government to U-Turn on voter ID before the next general election. 

Their unfair law has been imposed on us all, giving us less control and making it harder to hold local politicians to account. We can’t risk ID when choosing the next government.