Voter ID
- Thread starter Norman_Conquest
- Start date
Jedi boro
Well-known member
Yes I’ve just seen that ad as well and it’s absolutely shocking as there is Zero evidence of widespread election fraud in this country none.I've just seen that you now need to take photo ID to allow you to vote in the local elections in May.
Voter ID
Find out about the new requirement to take photo ID to some elections in England, Scotland and Waleswww.electoralcommission.org.uk
This is purely a gerrymandering exercise to disenfranchise thousands of not millions of would be voters.
Frankly it’s shameful.
Caesium137
Well-known member
Did they change the Oyster card thing (I think) whereby it counted as ID for over 60's but not 18-25 year olds.
*edit* I checked, nope, that's still cool apparently, how on earth are they getting away with that?
Caesium137
Well-known member
It slipped out quietly this month in the brouhaha of the approaching budget. The regulations listing acceptable ID documents that will allow people to vote at elections were not included in the shameless voter-suppression bill that passed through parliament this year. Are you surprised that the list includes all kinds of acceptable ID held by older voters, but that ID the young might have has been struck out? The whole purpose is to make it harder for young people, poor people and those who often move home to vote.
So many outrageous things have happened recently that indignation fatigue is a risk. We grow weary, blase and cynical. But warping the voting system in the right’s favour is a permanent harm, copied from the US. First-past-the-post already gives the right a huge electoral advantage, but the Tories want more.
As from next May’s local elections, all voters must bring along ID specified in this list. As the Electoral Reform Society (ERS) says, the kind of photo ID required is what older people are more likely to have. For example, why is a Transport for London Oyster card for 60+ travellers acceptable, but not a near-identical Oyster 18+ card? Let that stand as their true intention. Voters who don’t have a driving licence or passport or various forms of disabled person’s ID – all of which are more likely to be held by the old – can apply to their local authority for a free plastic voter ID photo card. How many would do that?
This barrier will, research by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation shows, disenfranchise many low-income voters. Getting one of these special voter IDs is harder for those who work irregular hours, or who may not speak good English or know how to use the technology. The government was plainly thinking of exactly those people in setting up barriers to stop them voting.
The Lords voted by a big majority to add in all kinds of easier ID, such as bank statements, bills, student ID, library cards and much more. But their amendment was struck out in the Commons. The pretence that there is a serious electoral fraud problem was debunked by evidence from the 2017 election: there was just one – yes, only one – conviction for voter impersonation at a polling station. Postal voting has seen more cases. The cost of imposing the new ID – extra staff at polling stations and councils issuing it – will be up to £180m a decade, according to the Cabinet Office. Turning people away, and telling them to return with other ID, will cause trouble. In the few trials in England in 2018 and 2019, of 3,000 people turned away, more than a third never came back.
This voter suppression comes on top of David Cameron’s previous assault on young voters. He barred colleges from block-registering all their students to vote. The serious problem is that the young are 40% less likely to vote; Bobby Duffy, director of the King’s College Policy Institute, finds them 40% less likely to think it a civic duty. Maybe they resist the meagre choices on offer. But David Willetts, a dedicated campaigner in the Lords against voter ID, says the Resolution Foundation, whose advisory council he chairs, finds the greatest obstacle to the young voting is living in private rented accommodation, where only 63% are registered to vote owing to moving frequently. He would force landlords to register their tenants.
Here’s why the government wants to keep the young away: voters over 70 are three times more likely to vote Tory than the 18-24s. Every year of life we age, we grow 0.35% more likely to be Tory. That may not sound a lot, “but it’s very valuable over a lifetime”, says Duffy. The tipping point for turning Tory has generally been growing older at each election: it was age 47 in 2017. No wonder the Tories worry they are dying out. Brexit saw a deep divide, with only 28% of millennials voting leave, compared with 61% of oldest voters.
www.theguardian.com
So many outrageous things have happened recently that indignation fatigue is a risk. We grow weary, blase and cynical. But warping the voting system in the right’s favour is a permanent harm, copied from the US. First-past-the-post already gives the right a huge electoral advantage, but the Tories want more.
As from next May’s local elections, all voters must bring along ID specified in this list. As the Electoral Reform Society (ERS) says, the kind of photo ID required is what older people are more likely to have. For example, why is a Transport for London Oyster card for 60+ travellers acceptable, but not a near-identical Oyster 18+ card? Let that stand as their true intention. Voters who don’t have a driving licence or passport or various forms of disabled person’s ID – all of which are more likely to be held by the old – can apply to their local authority for a free plastic voter ID photo card. How many would do that?
This barrier will, research by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation shows, disenfranchise many low-income voters. Getting one of these special voter IDs is harder for those who work irregular hours, or who may not speak good English or know how to use the technology. The government was plainly thinking of exactly those people in setting up barriers to stop them voting.
The Lords voted by a big majority to add in all kinds of easier ID, such as bank statements, bills, student ID, library cards and much more. But their amendment was struck out in the Commons. The pretence that there is a serious electoral fraud problem was debunked by evidence from the 2017 election: there was just one – yes, only one – conviction for voter impersonation at a polling station. Postal voting has seen more cases. The cost of imposing the new ID – extra staff at polling stations and councils issuing it – will be up to £180m a decade, according to the Cabinet Office. Turning people away, and telling them to return with other ID, will cause trouble. In the few trials in England in 2018 and 2019, of 3,000 people turned away, more than a third never came back.
This voter suppression comes on top of David Cameron’s previous assault on young voters. He barred colleges from block-registering all their students to vote. The serious problem is that the young are 40% less likely to vote; Bobby Duffy, director of the King’s College Policy Institute, finds them 40% less likely to think it a civic duty. Maybe they resist the meagre choices on offer. But David Willetts, a dedicated campaigner in the Lords against voter ID, says the Resolution Foundation, whose advisory council he chairs, finds the greatest obstacle to the young voting is living in private rented accommodation, where only 63% are registered to vote owing to moving frequently. He would force landlords to register their tenants.
Here’s why the government wants to keep the young away: voters over 70 are three times more likely to vote Tory than the 18-24s. Every year of life we age, we grow 0.35% more likely to be Tory. That may not sound a lot, “but it’s very valuable over a lifetime”, says Duffy. The tipping point for turning Tory has generally been growing older at each election: it was age 47 in 2017. No wonder the Tories worry they are dying out. Brexit saw a deep divide, with only 28% of millennials voting leave, compared with 61% of oldest voters.
Call these voter ID laws what they really are: voter suppression and an attack on young people
Older people lean Conservative – no wonder the government wants to keep younger ones away from ballot boxes, says Guardian columnist Polly Toynbee
www.theguardian.com
Norman_Conquest
Well-known member
It certainly is, and as others have said, there's no evidence that there's been large scale fraud during voting and it is all about making it harder for people to vote.
Let's face it, how else will this shower of sh1te get back in?
Let's face it, how else will this shower of sh1te get back in?
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Caesium137
Well-known member
Fixed it for you.
ThePrisoner
Well-known member
Really? Just now? It was passed into law about a year ago. It's called 'voter suppression' and there will be millions caught out.I've just seen that you now need to take photo ID to allow you to vote in the local elections in May.
Voter ID
Find out about the new requirement to take photo ID to some elections in England, Scotland and Wales
Also, young voters can't use the same ID as older voters. Nothing going on here though, just the slide into fascism.
ThePrisoner
Well-known member
An ignorant, gullible population.
clay
Well-known member
I think it's an appalling idea, and is deliberately done to reduce opposing votes.
With that caveat in place.....
With that caveat in place.....
Because the application process for the two cards is completely different. 18+ cards are given out with minimal checks, whereas the standard application for a 60+ card requires providing both a copy of your passport and a copy of your driving licence.
Nobby_Barnes
Well-known member
No it's not, I called 911 the other day and nobody answered
Capybara
Well-known member
I got one and I can't drive.
Besides, a student Oyster card still shows you are who you are. No one is going to get card (costing 20 quid) just to pretend they are someone else at a polling station.
ThePrisoner
Well-known member
So...
The old codgers already have the necessary ID in the form of a passport and driving licence but the government wastes resources by introducing a voter verification check for Oyster cards? Meanwhile us whipper-snappers have to use a passport or driving licence, if we have them. The point being that young, leftys are much less likely to have either so won't be able to vote anyway but right-leaning crustys are provided with extra convenience to encourage them to vote. Sounds fair.
That's only because they knew that it was you. I wouldn't have answered either.No it's not, I called 911 the other day and nobody answered
Nobby_Barnes
Well-known member
I'm going to have to call Magnum PI next time