- Conference
- 2023 National Delegate Conference
- Date
- 1 January 2023
- Decision
- Carried
Conference is deeply concerned at the changes in the law surrounding the requirement for mandatory voter ID at all general and by-elections in the UK and many other elections in England and Wales as part of the Elections Act passed in April last year. This is the requirement to show photographic proof of identity at Polling Stations before you are allowed to obtain your ballot paper. This legislation also covers proxy voters (people appointed by you to vote on your behalf if you are unable to attend the Polling Station yourself). Supposedly to prevent election fraud despite there being little evidence that this is a problem (for context, only six documented cases of ballot fraud were found at the last general election).
This will cover all voters in England and Wales for all elections and in Scotland this will apply only to Westminster Parliamentary Elections. In Northern Ireland there is already a need to provide photographic identification.
Voter ID, as many have warned previously, will amount to voter suppression. It stands to disenfranchise millions, particularly already disenfranchised groups in society.
The UK Electoral Reform Society have actively campaigned against the need for this change and have stated that:
“The UK does not have a problem with voter fraud and currently people have high confidence in voting. Adding a major barrier to democratic engagement off the back of so few proven cases would be a sledgehammer to crack a nut.”
Conference notes that, unlike in mainland Europe where everyone is issued with a mandatory ID card, here in the UK it is the disenfranchised who are unlikely to have acceptable voter ID. Many people who can’t afford to go on foreign holidays don’t have passports, and those that can’t, or don’t, drive don’t have driving licences.
Conference further notes that it is well documented that such schemes disenfranchise already disadvantaged groups, having a particularly disproportionate impact on Black communities.
A 2021 Channel 4 study found that ethnic minorities were far less likely to return to a polling station if turned away for not possessing the correct identification; voter ID trials in Watford in 2019 backed up these findings.
Conference further notes that none of the listed items of acceptable ID are aimed at younger voters with many specifically targeting older voters leading to concerns about the government deliberately disenfranchising the younger generation.
LGBT+ groups have also expressed anger over the voter ID provisions because of the potential for trans people to be turned away if their photo ID does not match their current appearance.
Conference is alarmed at the lack of government information and awareness raising on this issue. Uncertainty about awareness of the new requirements is likely to lead to disenfranchised groups being denied their right to vote from as early as this May.
Further, councils are reporting that they have serious concerns about the necessary support being in place in time for the May 2023 local elections meaning that, in England, this year could bring chaos to vital local elections at a time when councils are already facing tough choices in all areas of service provision.
Conference is also appalled to note that, by the government’s own estimates the scheme could cost up to £20 million per election. It is clearly unacceptable that with the current cost-of-living crisis, the government would consider spending millions of pounds of tax-payers money to prioritise putting up barriers to people taking part in our democracy.
This comes as part of a dizzying and sustained onslaught by this Tory government on our rights such as our right to protest, to strike and the continued threats to repeal the Human Rights Act that undermine so much of what public services represent and a base-line for our basic rights.
Conference agrees that these voter ID proposals are a deliberate attempt at voter suppression, will lead to chaos at our ballot boxes, has scary echoes of the international far-right’s play book and should concern us all.
Given the importance of making sure every vote counts, UNISON must do all it can to highlight these changes in electoral law that have the potential to disenfranchise our members from the democratic process. We need to raise awareness of what forms of identification are accepted and how members can obtain free Voter Authority Certificates from their Local Government offices.
Conference also notes that postal voting can be one of the routes to overcoming voter suppression in the short term, before the legislation requiring photo ID is reversed. If people are registered to vote by post, they are not required to present photo ID every time they cast their ballot. In addition, there is some evidence to suggest that people with a postal vote are more likely to vote.
The stakes have never been higher. We need to make sure our members are aware of the changes that are now in place in law, that way they can have the necessary documentation to be able to participate in the democratic process.
Conference therefore calls on the National Executive Council to:
1) Work, alongside the TUC, WTUC, STUC and affiliated civil liberties organisations to continue to oppose, reverse and lobby against these draconian measures;
2) Work with Labour Link to influence the next Labour Party general election manifesto to commit to reversing this legislation;
3) Whist the law remains, to continue to campaign for other forms of ID to be acceptable such as student ID and non-photo ID;
4) Develop and resource a campaign to raise awareness of the new legislation amongst members and issue guidance on how to get access to currently acceptable forms of voter ID;
5) Seek advice from the National Black Members Committee on how best to target information at Black communities.
6) Put in place plans to encourage UNISON members to apply for a postal vote for forthcoming elections.