Peter Lazenby
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TENS of thousands of people are scrambling to register to vote in local elections on May 4 with a final deadline to do so falling at 11.59pm tonight.
But voters will still face the latest Tory obstacle placed in the way of democracy when they vote as those in England must produce photo identification documents before they are allowed to do so.
The scheme has been criticised as a Tory attempt to stop people voting. As a general rule, the higher the turnout at elections, the bigger the vote for Labour.
The government’s introduction of compulsory photo ID has been branded expensive and unnecessary by Labour.
The Electoral Reform Society (ERS) condemned introduction of voter ID on grounds of it being both an attack on democracy and expensive, costing taxpayers £18 million over 10 years.
“Evidence from around the world shows that forcing voters to bring photographic ID to the polling station just makes it harder for people to vote, while doing little to increase faith in the integrity of the system,” said the ERS.
“We don’t need to spend millions to put up barriers to people taking part in our democracy.
“There’s evidence that strict voter ID rules in the USA disproportionately disadvantage already marginalised groups.”
It said that in Britain, along with other nations like the United States, you are more likely to have an ID if you are richer while research shows that more disadvantaged groups are less likely to have ID.
The body said: “Many citizens who can’t afford to go on foreign holidays don’t have passports, and those that can’t drive don’t have driving licences.
“The government’s own commissioned research found that those with severely limiting disabilities, the unemployed, people without qualifications, and those who had never voted before were all less likely to hold any form of photo ID.
The Tories opposed the introduction of compulsory ID cards when it was proposed during Tony Blair’s period as prime minister.
The scramble to register to vote saw an average of 19,361 applications per day in the week to April 15, government figures show.
Voters can register online today by visiting gov.uk/registertovote.
More than 8,000 council seats will be filled in town, rural and district councils.
