The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Wales (Kevin Foster)
Today, the Cabinet Office published its evaluation of the 2019 voter ID pilots. The evaluation shows that a diverse range of local authorities delivered successful pilots. We know this because for the second successive year, the overwhelming majority of people who came to polling stations were able to cast their vote without difficulty.
When surveyed, people in areas testing the poll card model and the mixed photographic and non-photographic model were significantly more confident in—and satisfied with—the process of casting their vote after polling day. Perceptions that there were sufficient safeguards in place to prevent voter fraud at polling stations increased in areas trialling photographic ID and mixed ID models.
Locally issued ID was made available, free of charge, whenever an elector was unsure that they were able to produce the required ID. In Pendle and Woking, 100 such voters made use of the provision. Woking, who were piloting voter ID for a second year, found the number of people who did not return after being asked to present ID had decreased from 2018. Electoral administrators from Woking have inferred this may be due to local electors viewing the ID requirements as the new standard.
Alongside the Government’s evaluation, the Electoral Commission will publish their evaluation on the voter ID pilots today.
Electoral fraud is an unacceptable crime that strikes at a core principle of our democracy, that everyone’s vote matters. In our current system, there is undeniable potential for electoral fraud and the perception of this undermines public confidence in our democracy.
The success of both rounds of voter ID pilots shows voter ID is a reasonable and proportionate measure to prevent this, ensuring your vote is yours, and yours alone. The introduction of this measure across Great Britain will strengthen the integrity of our electoral system and give the public confidence our elections are secure and fit for the 21st century.
Both last year’s pilots and decades of experience of Northern Ireland—including at the most recent local elections—show voter ID does not have an adverse effect on election turnout or participation. We remain committed to rolling out this effective anti-fraud measure and bringing the whole of the United Kingdom into line with Northern Ireland, which has required ID to vote in elections since 1985.
Running pilots again in 2019 allowed us to gain a deeper understanding of how voter ID will work on a wider scale, and what works best for voters before national roll- out. We will continue to look carefully at the evaluations from both the 2018 and 2019 pilots to help inform our next steps and shape how the final policy will look when it is introduced.
Attachments can be viewed online at https://www. parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answers-statements/written-statement/Commons/2019-07-22/HCWS1767/
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