A South Oxfordshire voting booth refused to admit the former Prime Minister Boris Johnson because he did not carry the necessary picture ID.
Ironically, in 2022, the conservative Johnson proposed the Elections Act, which included providing a picture ID. According to the Electoral Commission, the measure might disproportionately affect some groups and prevent hundreds of thousands of people from casting ballots.
Johnson did vote later, apparently showing the necessary I.D.
The minister of veterans affairs formally apologized to veterans who could not cast ballots in the English local elections using their veteran IDs. To add veterans’ ID cards to the list of acceptable forms of identification, Downing Street indicated it would “look into” revising the contentious regulations that demand picture ID to vote.
After the governing Johnson administration enacted the new regulation in 2022, mandating the use of picture identification to cast a ballot, voters were first required to provide identification at municipal elections in May 2023. According to the Electoral Commission, about 14,000 English citizens were disenfranchised from participating in the local elections held last year due to the new regulations.
Conservative lawmaker Tom Hunt, meantime, has claimed that he had to arrange for an emergency proxy vote after losing his passport due to dyspraxia. (Dyspraxia is a condition that impacts coordination and motor skills.)
Ipswich representative Mr. Hunt has said that he doesn’t like to hide behind his affliction and blame everything on it, but sadly, those afflicted are more likely to lose things.
For those who have misplaced, had their ID stolen, or had it destroyed, an emergency proxy vote may be requested up to 5 pm on election day.
Passports, driver’s licenses, Oyster 60+ cards, and bus tickets for the elderly or disabled are among the 22 valid forms of identification. Additionally, a Voter Authority Certificate, available to registered voters at no cost, may be applied for.