Why would the Government make it more difficult to vote?
Voter apathy in the UK is increasing, and in the 15 years I have been knocking on doors there is a growing view that voting doesn’t have influence. Today I had a different experience talking with a voter in her 40s.

She had not voted in the Brexit referendum assuming that there was no need, that her vote would not matter.
She bitterly regretted the decision to stay at home and wondered how many like her had thought the same.
There is a false assumption that those who do not vote, do not care. Non-voters often share interesting views on everything from farming to childcare, immigration to intergeneration fairness.
What they don’t connect is that their vote impacts those things directly, through a simple cross in a box.
I often ask voters if they share the same priorities as their grandparents and their empathic response is usually ‘no’. When I then ask them why they are effectively letting grandparents decide their future – after all the older generation is around twice as likely to vote – the penny drops. Their vote matters.
So why would the Government make things harder? Why introduce Voter ID during a cost-of-living crisis at a cost £20million for each major election? Is there a huge problem with fraud or is there more to it than that?

The Electoral Commission’s own website confirms there was only one conviction for ‘in person voter fraud’ in 2019 and their website states: “There is no evidence of large-scale electoral fraud”, so that is not the problem. Conservatives claim ‘it’s normal’ to take ID, after all they do in most countries, but most of those countries have a compulsory national ID card – we do not.
The new law – which Liberal Democrats tried to block in the House of Lords – forces voters to take specific forms of photo ID to the polling station or apply in advance for a voter registration certificate (VRC). Bizarrely, an OAP Bus Pass is on the approved list, but the equivalent student travel card is not! Draw your own conclusion…
One in three people under 30 have no driving licence, and among ethnic populations the figures are lower – with only 53% of black adults having a full licence. Eight million people do not have a passport. You have to apply for a VRC in advance and take your ID with you, in direct contrast to recent years where you haven’t even had to take your poll card to make your mark.
There is no doubt our electoral system is flawed, but the Government is not dealing with the structural problems.
Liberal Democrats believe in electoral reform including Proportional Representation, restructuring Party funding, and removing hereditary peers from the House of Lords.
Society faces huge issues, and we must all have the chance to make our mark, however imperfect the system. So, check your ID now or register for a postal vote – you can download a form from Gov.UK – and send it to your local council.
Make sure you have your say.