Fifth Report - Legislative Scrutiny: Elections Bill

The introduction of a voter ID requirement may have a discriminatory impact on certain groups with protected characteristics who are less likely to hold any form of photo ID, including older people and people with disabilities. The Government must make clear how it plans to mitigate any discriminatory impact on those groups.

It is crucial that the Government understand the scale of hesitancy to engage with the democratic process that may exist in some communities if a requirement to show photo ID at polling stations is introduced. It is regrettable that neither the Cabinet Office research nor the Government’s Equality Impact Assessment consider whether a voter ID requirement would disproportionately dissuade members of certain communities from voting. The Government should produce clear research to ascertain whether introducing a voter ID requirement would lead to hesitancy to vote amongst Black, Asian and minority ethnic communities, and if so, how they plan to tackle that hesitancy.

It is concerning that the Government do not appear to fully understand the potential discriminatory impact of requiring voter ID on individuals who identify as White Gypsy or Irish Traveller. Efforts must be made to obtain this information and to provide it to Parliament by Committee stage to allow for effective scrutiny of the provisions in the Bill.

It is imperative to ensure elections are secure against fraud and protect public confidence in the electoral process. However, any measure seeking to increase the security of elections must not make voting inaccessible or have a discriminatory impact. Any measure that has the potential to disproportionately impact certain groups of voters requires strong justification. The Government must explain why they have concluded that a voter ID requirement at polling stations is necessary and proportionate given (i) the low number of reported cases of fraud at polling stations, (ii) the even lower number of convictions and cautions; (iii) the potential for the requirement to discriminate against certain groups; and (iv) the lack of any clear measures to combat potential discrimination faced by those groups, including disabled people and older people.

It is difficult to assess at this stage whether the Voter Card scheme will mitigate the potentially discriminatory impacts of the requirement that voters show photo ID at polling stations. To enable effective scrutiny, the Government should produce the regulations containing the details of the Voter Card scheme before the Elections Bill reaches the Committee Stage in the House of Commons.

The Government must ensure that the Voter Card scheme is easily accessible for individuals who want one. The scheme should not entail prohibitive incidental costs or requirements that may affect take-up, such as a requirement to attend at the issuing office. The scheme needs to actually mitigate rather than exacerbate the potentially discriminatory impacts on groups with protected characteristics. (Paragraph 35) 20 Legislative Scrutiny: Elections Bill

High take-up of the Voter Card is essential to ensure those individuals who do not have photographic ID are not effectively disenfranchised. The Government and Electoral Commission must produce detailed plans setting-out how they plan to encourage individuals who do not have photo ID to apply for a Voter Card. Data should be collected to analyse how successful those plans are at increasing take-up, and should be disaggregated to show any difference in take-up across certain groups. (Paragraph 39) Voter registration

The Government should reconsider the introduction of automatic registration and run pilot schemes to evaluate how it would operate. A significant number of people who are entitled to vote are either not registered to vote or are incorrectly registered. Efforts must also be taken to reduce the registration gap between Black, Asian and minority ethnic voters and White voters, younger and older voters, and any other groups where a registration gap exists.

To mitigate any potential discriminatory impacts of a voter ID requirement, it is necessary to take a joined-up approach that both promotes and facilitates registration and ensures the highest possible take-up of the Voter Card amongst individuals who otherwise may not have photo ID. The Government should consider amending the Elections Bill to make provision for automatic voter registration. (Paragraph 48) Legislative Scrutiny: Elections Bill 21