The changes, pushed through by the government last year, are ostensibly an attempt to allay fears about election security. Opponents argue they will suppress turnout among certain slices of the electorate
: in the eight years to 2021, there were only three convictions for this offence. In other places that require identification, such as Canada, Switzerland and certain American states, research has not shown a causal relationship between voterThat still leaves open the possibility of immediate chaos. Details of the new voting requirements weren’t finalised until December 2022, leaving only a few months before the local elections for authorities and officials to get the message out.
There may be a lot of frustrated people to deal with. As of February, according to research by the Electoral Commission, an independent body that oversees ballots in Britain, 37% of voters believed that, which would equate to around 2m people. Such voters can apply for a free “voter authority certificate”; so far just 60,000 have done so, and the deadline to apply is April 25th. “It’s a massive hill to climb,” says Craig Westwood, who runs communications for the commission.
Given the fine margins of local democracy, the loss of a few voters can make a big difference . In last year’s local elections, for instance, two seats on Wirral council were decided by fewer than 100 votes; two seats also happened to be the size of the Labour victory. If voters are turned away in their droves, or seats swing because a handful of voters are carrying the wrong pass, that might dent faith in the system rather than shore it up. “Confidence is always going to be central to our role and is a key indicator around elections”, says Mr Westwood. “It’s incredibly hard to build it up. And it’s very easy for it to be lost”.
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