Source · Select Committees · Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee
Recommendation 57
57
Accepted in Part
Analyse ID possession for 16-17 year olds and mitigate voter ID impact for new voters.
Conclusion
We are particularly concerned that introducing votes for 16 and 17 year olds poses an issue for a group that may not have the necessary ID. If a Bill is introduced containing provisions to change the voting age to 16, an analysis needs to be undertaken of what forms of ID people aged 16–17 are most likely to possess, and a plan set out for how the impact of the voter ID requirement on this age group will be mitigated. Consideration should be given to proactively, or even automatically, providing Voter Authenticity Certificates to people coming onto the electoral register for the first time. (Recommendation, Paragraph 150)
Government Response Summary
The government recognizes challenges for 16-17 year olds and states awareness raising will be important. It also agrees with the use of digital IDs and plans to create a digital Voter Authority Certificate (VAC) as an option, but does not commit to analysis of existing ID types or a mitigation plan for this age group.
Government Response
Accepted in Part
HM Government
Accepted in Part
This Government was elected on a manifesto commitment to address the inconsistencies in the voter ID rules that prevent legitimate voters from participating. As set out in the Strategy, the Government is clear that significant improvements are needed to remove barriers to participation while maintaining proportionate safeguards against personation. The Electoral Commission’s report into Voter ID at the 2024 UK general election, published September 2024, showed 4% of non-voters at the 2024 General Election cited voter ID as a factor in their not turning out to vote. Evidence also consistently shows that at least 2% of people in Great Britain do not hold a form of ID on the current list and that certain groups of people are less likely to have accepted forms of ID. Extensive research was also conducted by IFF Research, who looked into the impacts of voter ID on different demographics and their propensity to vote, as published in May 2025 in the IFF evaluation of the impact and implementation of the Elections Act. It is essential to keep our democratic processes under review to ensure they are fit for purpose, which is why we previously amended the list of accepted identifications to include the HM Armed Forces Veteran Card. As set out in the Strategy for Elections, after careful review and consideration of potential changes to ensure the accessibility of the voter ID policy, we will further be amending legislation to permit the use of UK-issued bank cards as an accepted form of voter identification in Great Britain. This change will increase accessibility and ensure greater choice and flexibility for voters. Bank cards are held by the overwhelming majority of the electorate, and this change will significantly reduce the proportion of legitimate electors who are unable to meet the identification requirement. This change is particularly important to ensure those who are less likely to hold photo ID–such as electors with disabilities and younger electors–are effectively able to engage with the democratic process and have their voices heard. We recognise the additional challenges that may be faced by 16- and 17-year-old electors, and awareness raising within this demographic of the voter ID requirements and availability of the Voter Authority Certificate (VAC) will be important as votes at 16 is introduced. The Government is committed to modernising and improving ways for people to interact with government digitally and recognises the great value and convenience that the use of digital IDs can bring to the public particularly though simplified access and use. We therefore agree with the Committee’s recommendation on the use of digital IDs as voter ID and the Committee will be pleased to note that we announced in our Strategy for Elections our intention to also create a digital VAC as a further option for electors. This is alongside the clarification that, as photographic documents already on the accepted list of voter ID become available in digital form, these too will be accepted at the polling station.