18 people turned away from Exeter polls

Get ID’d here or sling your hook (image courtesy: Exeter City Council)

They didn’t have the right ID

Eighteen people were turned away and didn’t return to Exeter’s polling stations at the local elections because they didn’t have the correct ID.

This month’s elections were the first in Britain where people had to show photo identification, such as a passport or driving licence, before they were given a ballot paper.

Figures confirmed by the city council reveal that 61 people were initially told they couldn’t vote on Thursday 4 May because they did not have one of the approved forms of ID, though 43 later returned with one.

It means 99.9 per cent of people who entered a polling station in Exeter were able to vote, according to the council’s elections team.

However, the figures do not include anyone who may have spotted reminders about voter ID outside and then decided not to come in to the polling station.

Reacting to the numbers, council leader Phil Bialyk (Labour, Exwick) said: “I think it’s disappointing that people have been turned away. I was concerned that government were trying to fix a problem that wasn’t [there] in the first place.

“There was very little, if any, voter fraud, particularly in Exeter and even throughout the country. Yet many people in Exeter and throughout the country have been denied a vote.”

Asked whether he thought the policy should be scrapped, he said: “I think there should be a proper review as to why and what we’re seeking to achieve.

“I was surprised at the number of people who do not have photo ID and we don’t require them to in life in general, and this was a further obstacle to stop people from voting.”

Cllr Diana Moore (Green, St David’s), co-leader of Exeter’s opposition Progressive Group, said: “While on the face of it 18 people not voting may not seem many, but it represents 18 people who’ve not been able to exercise their precious right to vote.

She added: “This ill-conceived and rushed legislation has prevented more people from voting in this local election than there have been cases of fraud in Exeter over the past 12 years, of which there’s not been a single conviction.

“What the government should be doing is fixing our broken democracy with a fair, proportional voting system to ensure all votes count.”

The government announced the voter ID policy in 2021, saying it would “protect the integrity of the ballot box” and would eliminate the “potential for voter fraud.”

Ministers also pointed out that ID has been a requirement for elections in Northern Ireland since 2003, as well as in many European countries.

But two of Devon’s current and former Conservative politicians have expressed mixed views on the policy. Devon County Council leader John Hart last month said: “I’m not sure it’s needed, personally.”

However, former Tiverton and Honiton Tory MP Neil Parish defended the change in March, telling Devoncast from Radio Exe: “I think it’s really necessary because, in the end, we need to make sure everyone who votes are who they say they are.”

Elections watchdog the Electoral Commission is collecting data from councils across England and expects to publish initial findings about the policy next month.

A government spokesperson was approached for a comment on the Exeter figures but did not respond.