Voter ID critics claim thousands turned away

Thousands of voters were turned away from the polls in areas piloting new ID requirements, the Electoral Reform Society has claimed in what it called a “dark day for politics”.

Voters in five councils had to provide photo identification to vote in Thursday’s local elections, in a pilot the government says will crack down on electoral fraud.

However, critics say only a handful of incidents of fraud were recorded at the last general election, and warn that minorities and voters in deprived areas will be disenfrachised by the measure.

The Electoral Reform Society claimed that analysis by observers in the