[Politics] Is a Photo ID requirement for Voting a Good Idea?

[Hotchilidog]

This is a politically motivated move designed to suppress the non-Tory vote and put the seed of doubt in people's minds about the legitimacy of our elections. It's an utter disgrace and I hope the next Labour government will repeal this legislation as a matter of urgency.

 

[Thunder Bolt]

Here in Estonia and most of Europe there have been ID cards for years. Not an issue at all. We also use a system called smart id for signing documents digitally.

I have no objection to ID cards but this is using a sledgehammer to crack a nut. The least the government can do is be honest (ha ha ha) about it.

 

[Zeberdi]

This is a politically motivated move designed to suppress the non-Tory vote and put the seed of doubt in people's minds about the legitimacy of our elections. It's an utter disgrace and I hope the next Labour government will repeal this legislation as a matter of urgency.

That sums up nicely what I literally just said on p4 - but much more succinctly

Claims that PhotoID Voting is necessary to combat election fraud can therefore feed a politically motivated narrative that election results can not be trusted!

 

[Mellor 3 Ward 4]

You need photo ID to pick up a parcel from the post office, and an Albion ticket at an away game - why not to vote?

All Europeans laugh at us when we say we don't have ID

Nothing to hide - then nothing to worry about IMO

 

[A1X]

we should all have the same ID card, like most countries do, and that'll be fine?

Personally, I would be OK with ID cards. It's not like the Government don't already have all the information that would be on one.

 

[Bozza]

This is a politically motivated move designed to suppress the non-Tory vote and put the seed of doubt in people's minds about the legitimacy of our elections. It's an utter disgrace and I hope the next Labour government will repeal this legislation as a matter of urgency.

That sums up nicely what I literally just said on p4 - but much more succinctly

Claims that PhotoID Voting is necessary to combat election fraud can therefore feed a politically motivated narrative that election results can not be trusted!

After the national collective thumbs down the electorate gave to the idea of a Jeremy Corbyn-led government, I think we can trust the legitimacy of our elections.

 

[rippleman]

When I first voted in my late teens I was astonished how easy it was. It is an honour to vote and you really should have to show your ID. The opportunity for individuals to vote more than once is massive. I’m not saying it has ever swayed an election but how would we know?

You use ID for far less important things than voting it seems very odd that we don’t already have this.

Finally if you don’t ID are you really part of our society? Are you paying taxes? Are you? I think if you don’t have ID 9 times out 10 you don’t deserve to have the vote I am afraid.

Not a clue how you have come to associate photo id for voting with paying taxes. I can pay my taxes (and have done for decades) without having a passport or a driving licence. That's a totally illogical and incorrect argument to make. Very odd indeed.

And I'm sure that the majority of those defrauding the tax system DO have photo id (albeit possibly fraudulent).

 

[Greenbag50]

If it guarantees one person, one vote and removes ANY risk of voting fraud, I’m all for it.

 

[BBassic]

I think we can trust the legitimacy of our elections.

Indeed most sensible people know and understand that our electoral process is legitimate.

But you only have to glance over the pond to see how easy it is to ferment the idea that they may not be.

There are absolutely people in this country who would listen to and take on that idea if an election didn't go their way.

 

[rippleman]

You need photo ID to pick up a parcel from the post office, and an Albion ticket at an away game - why not to vote?

All Europeans laugh at us when we say we don't have ID

Nothing to hide - then nothing to worry about IMO

Are you prepared to pay to renew my (long expired) passport so I have photo id to vote? It's £75.50.

 

[Wardy's twin]

Personally have no issue with having an id card. Our society evolved around the concept of the 'common wealth' and identifying with that structure and having a passport or an identification document should not be an issue. That might mean all sorts of big brother things COULD happen but the reality is for most people that is unlikely to effect their day to day lives

However, this move to link ID and voting because of electoral fraud is BULLSHIT put about by a Tory party who have continually shown how they want to cheat the system. Maybe if there is evidence of fraud then perhaps the 2019 vote should be rerun.

The biggest electoral fraud is politicians promising things they have no intention of delivering e.g. NHS £350m bus...

 

[beorhthelm]

Are you prepared to pay to renew my (long expired) passport so I have photo id to vote? It's £75.50.

old passports are eligible for voter ID.

 

[BBassic]

old passports are eligible for voter ID.

Which in itself is f***ing stupid, isn't it?

When one of my passports expired when I was 17 I had spots and long hair. When the next one expired the long hair and spots were gone, replaced by a rather luscious beard. The only visible feature in both were my glasses. Which had also changed.

If were to present the spotty oik photo to a voting booth how on earth do they validate I'm the same person? Just by looking at the name and taking me at my word?

 

[A1X]

 

[Thunder Bolt]

My only concern about voting fraud is postal votes. We had postal votes but delivered them by hand to the polling station because of concerns that having been privatised, some postal votes may not arrive to be counted. See IDOX, and prior to that, Halarose, owned by Tory peer Peter Lilley.

There were also lots of votes arriving late to voters abroad still entitled to vote.

You don't need voter ID to use postal votes.

 

[Swansman]

I'm sure Potter would have dealt with the situation perfectly

No it's a terrible idea stolen from Rebublicans with the intention of disenfranchising voting left

Well, most of the evidence we have on this is from the US where the politics is even more hopelessly divided than here.

The evidence suggests that their introduction of voter ID disproportionately affected poorer sections of the voting public, and led to massive queues in many polling stations. Our way of doing it may be better than the US, but given what happens to fast food franchises when they hit the U.K., I doubt it.

The cost of doing this set against the statistically negligible levels of voter ID fraud seen in our elections suggest it’s a sledgehammer to crack a nut, and is one of the silly gang’s ideas - the same lot who make policy not on its usefulness or suitability for Britain, but on how much it’s likely to annoy their political opponents. Power is absolutely wasted on these clowns.

It's being done to stop young people voting.

Voter suppression of the young and the poor.

Straight out of the US Republican play book, these crypto fascists know what they’re doing

I really dont mind being against national ID cards, I find it refreshing... but the idea that this is some kind of America only-thing is just pretty wild.

Appreciate the concerns about surveillance etc... but that ship sailed a very long time ago.

 

[Mellor 3 Ward 4]

Not a clue how you have come to associate photo id for voting with paying taxes. I can pay my taxes (and have done for decades) without having a passport or a driving licence. That's a totally illogical and incorrect argument to make. Very odd indeed.

And I'm sure that the majority of those defrauding the tax system DO have photo id (albeit possibly frau

Are you prepared to pay to renew my (long expired) passport so I have photo id to vote? It's £75.50.

You can use your expired passport as ID to vote.

What photo ID do you take to collect a parcel from the sorting office or to collect tickets at an Albion away game?

 

[The Antikythera Mechanism]

I really dont mind being against national ID cards, I find it refreshing... but the idea that this is some kind of America only-thing is just pretty wild.

View attachment 155902

Appreciate the concerns about surveillance etc... but that ship sailed a very long time ago.

Thanks for posting that map as I have noticed Svalbard for the first time. Never knew it was there.

 

[The Clamp]

I have some issues with national ID but can see some advantages.

However, getting them through in the Trojan horse of “solving electoral fraud”, which is simply not a problem, is utterly contemptible.

We need to get the Tory’s out of power ad investigate all their various frauds and scandals. Most of them should be in prison.

 

[Zeberdi]

I'm absolutely NOT making a case for photographic ID being a requirement, I just don't think anyone can say "electoral fraud isn't much of a problem" with any confidence at all. They may well be absolutely correct, but there's no way of knowing, is there?)

That’s not a very logical argument imo as the value of it would depend on it being possible to prove a negative.

The government saying photo ID voting will reduce/stop election fraud is based on a fallacious argument. Again, it is not possible to prove the existence of something if there is no evidence of its existence.

We know there is no evidence of election fraud, or very little indeed, so until it can be proven otherwise, it would seem more rational to conclude with a high level of confidence that there is no fraudulent voting going on, (or at least NOT enough to merit the introduction photoID voting), than to say ‘fraud exists, despite the lack of evidence pointing to the contrary and PhotoIDs are required to address it’!