Voters Turned Away from Polling Stations Across England
The SNP has said that voter ID poses a real threat to the UK General Election next year, as countless reports of voters being turned away at polling stations during the local elections in England emerge.
As polls closed, the Electoral Commission reported that newly introduced Tory voter ID laws had meant “some people were regrettably unable to vote” and that it “posed a greater challenge for some groups in society“.
There have been reports of older people’s bus passes being accepted as valid ID, while those of young people were rejected.
Concern has been raised about the impact on a possible by-election in Rutherglen and Hamilton West, where the requirements would be in place.
These widespread instances of people being denied their right to vote are very troubling.
GRAEME
The introduction of voter ID would seem to have been a deeply cynical move on the part of the Tories, which is having the effect of excluding significant numbers of people from certain societal groups in particular.
The SNP will continue to oppose the policy of voter ID, and it will not be introduced for Scottish Parliament or Scottish local authority elections.
But the threat this poses to the running of the next UK General Election is a serious one, and so I must encourage constituents to ensure they have an acceptable form of ID in advance of this.
