Voter ID likely to send council costs spiralling
Concerns over proposal
Further concerns have been raised over plans to bring in voter ID for UK elections after a report suggested they could throw up “significant” costs for Renfrewshire Council.
Documents presented to the Renfrewshire Valuation Joint Board – which meets to make decisions on electoral registration – state the plans will have “significant budget and workload implications for electoral registration officers” if implemented.
Westminster intends to require everyone who visits the ballot box at future general elections to produce photo ID before they can vote in a bid to tackle fraud.
Those who do not have an acceptable form of ID such as a passport will be able to apply for a free voter card from their council and the UK Government has so far said the Cabinet Office will cover the cost of producing these.
But this latest report has led to fears it could still have a huge impact on the council coffers.
Paisley Northwest councillor Kenny MacLaren and Paisley Southeast byelection candidate Bruce MacFarlane have both hit out at the proposals which could hit 2.1 million people in the UK who do not have acceptable ID.
Councillor MacLaren said: “This is yet another report highlighting the extra cost of running elections due to the Tories’ plan to force all voters to provide ID before they can vote.
“There is not a problem with fraudulent voting. At the 2019 election, there were only 33 allegations of voter impersonation out of more 58 million votes cast.
“This adds to the comments from organisations such as the Electoral Reform Society (ERS) which has complained about the impact that this bill will have on deterring poorer people from voting. The ERS quote the UK Government’s own figures that around 2.1 million people would be unable to vote in a general election due to not having a recognisable photo ID.”
The ERS has estimated the changes will add around £20million to the cost of holding elections in the UK.
The plans have also been slammed for their potential to cause major confusion for Scots, given that ID will not be required for voting in Holyrood or local elections.
At the moment, voters only have to state their name and address at a polling station which the UK Government argues opens up “inexcusable potential” for fraud.
Mr MacFarlane, who is standing for the SNP at the by-election, added: “We should be looking at ways to encourage people to take part in elections not putting barriers up, especially against those from poorer areas who don’t have the required identification documents.”
A DLUHC spokesperson said:“We should not be complacent when it comes to ensuring our democratic process remains secure.
“Our Elections Bill will stamp out the potential for voter fraud, and will bring the rest of the UK in line with Northern Ireland, which has had photo identification to vote in elections since 2003.
“The UK Government will be providing additional funding to cover the costs of implementing our reforms, and voters who do not have one of the required forms of photographic identification can apply for a free local Voter Card.”