ID cards for Voting

[Lower]

I have no problem with having to produce ID to vote. Considering how important voting is, i'm surprised that ID to vote hasn't been compulsory historically.

I would have a problem with the carrying of ID being a legal requirement, but the two issues are independent.

 

[ellal]

I have no problem with having to produce ID to vote. Considering how important voting is, i'm surprised that ID to vote hasn't been compulsory historically.

I would have a problem with the carrying of ID being a legal requirement, but the two issues are independent.

The two issues are not 'independent'...

Once a person has been conditioned to require ID for any particular activity then it becomes 'second nature', and then it becomes mandatory...

Years ago when leaving home it was checking to see if you had your wallet and keys...

A few years on and it was wallet, keys, and phone...

Now its wallet, keys, phone, and mask...

When you add the ID to that list, what will you be able to do without it?

And more importantly who will be able to demand to see your ID for whatever reason!

 

[Lower]

The two issues are not 'independent'...

Once a person has been conditioned to require ID for any particular activity then it becomes 'second nature', and then it becomes mandatory...

Years ago when leaving home it was checking to see if you had your wallet and keys...

A few years on and it was wallet, keys, and phone...

Now its wallet, keys, phone, and mask...

When you add the ID to that list, what will you be able to do without it?

And more importantly who will be able to demand to see your ID for whatever reason!

I think you are overstating the implications of requiring ID for voting. You already require a form of ID to vote, specifically your voting card.

We already have ID requirements for a number of activities such as travelling, driving a car, spending money electronically (bank or credit card), taking out a mortgage, buying alcohol or tobacco etc which are accepted and have not caused ID requirement inflation.We already have forms of ID issued to us at various stages in our lives that you can't avoid by not travelling or not driving etc, eg birth certificate, National Insurance number, NHS number etc.

I agree that i don't want the carrying of ID to be a legal requirement. If i walk down to the shop to buy some milk, i don't think its right to expect me to have to carry ID. But requiring voters to produce a form of ID to vote (which in my opinion is a critically important democratic right and therefore its right to prove you are who you say you are) can be entirely independent of any argument about whether we should or shouldn't have to carry ID on a routine basis.

 

[JP_]

You already require a form of ID to vote, specifically your voting card.

I've never taken a voting card to vote. Just give my name and address when I vote.
Not on principle I should add, just never thought about taking it with me!

 

[charliegolf]

You already require a form of ID to vote, specifically your voting card.

No you don't.

edit: too slow!

 

[Vinty]

Don't know what all the fuss is about.
You can't get on a bus without a bus pass, nor can you drive a car without a driving licence, same thing with a passport.
Photographic ID at election time is a no brainer.
People are starting to lose confidence in democracy, that is not a good thing.
What really needs to be tightened up is the postal voting system.

 

[JP_]

People are starting to lose confidence in democracy, that is not a good thing.
What really needs to be tightened up is the postal voting system.

There has been just one case of voting fraud in the UK.

It will cost a lot of money to solve this crisis of 1 person committing voting fraud. Money that could be spent on schools, NHS, filling potholes, more police, better social care, etc. etc.

If it goes ahead you can bet it will all be done by some guy that was at college with Boris and has just bought his first card printing machine.

 

[Lower]

I've never taken a voting card to vote. Just give my name and address when I vote.
Not on principle I should add, just never thought about taking it with me!

I've postal voted for years, and i thought you needed your voting card in order to vote in person so i stand corrected.

However, if no form of id is required then it's even more important that an ID requirement is introduced.

 

[JP_]

However, if no form of id is required then it's even more important that an ID requirement is introduced.

Why? Almost nobody has been abusing the current system - no polling stations report cases of people turning up to vote only to find that their name has already been crossed off the list. The system is working, and it is simple, cheap, and nobody is excluded because they have not bought an ID card.

 

[Mottie]

Nobody ever complains about producing ID when asked to show it when dropping off rubbish at the recycling centre or collecting missed mail from the sorting office.

 

[Scarlet Pimpernel]

Will students get two ID cards?
What's wrong with using some existing form of ID?

 

[JohnD]

You can't get on a bus without a bus pass

nonsense.

 

[JP_]

dropping off rubbish at the recycling centre

They must be strict round your way!

collecting missed mail from the sorting office

People who don't have a driving licence or passport can still collect their post, they don't need a photo ID.

 

[Lower]

Why? Almost nobody has been abusing the current system - no polling stations report cases of people turning up to vote only to find that their name has already been crossed off the list. The system is working, and it is simple, cheap, and nobody is excluded because they have not bought an ID card.

Anecdotally, there is a belief that some people, particularly activist students, have been voting twice (once in the home town and once in their university town) and also voting 'on behalf' of other students that aren't interested in voting.

I'm sure that with all the interference in elections from hostile foreign powers, there is also the risk of voter fraud in the future with the current system.

 

[JP_]

They must be Tory activists then, as labour are losing votes, not gaining them. Maybe some have done that, but most students study many miles from home and don't own cars, so very unlikely to travel across the country in one day to vote in 2 places. Is there any evidence that this has happened? Is it worth spending 50 million on?

Not sure how hostile foreign powers will go unnoticed walking into Wibbly Green's church hall to vote for 89 year old Mrs Marcham.

There is an argument that the more complex you make a system, the greater the risk of fraud. This is trying to fix a problem that is not there.