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type: ExternalThing
type: IndexingAndSearchThing
type: Answer
type: CorrectingAnswer
type: WrittenAnswer
answer has question: IWeR3XP1
answer has answering person: trjrjVxb
answer text: Requiring some form of identification to vote was successfully tested at the local elections on 3 May by five local authorities: Bromley, Gosport, Swindon, Watford and Woking. The overwhelming majority of people cast their vote without a problem and the success of the pilots proves that this is a reasonable and proportionate measure to take, and there was no notable adverse effect on turnout. The estimate by the political lobby group the Electoral Reform Society is exaggerated and inaccurate. Data from Returning Officers across all five participating local authorities shows that there were 340 electors asked to return to the polling station with the correct identification who did not subsequently return. This represents 0.16% of the votes cast. This reflects that such identification was a brand new requirement, and a few electors may not have read the publicity that they were sent about the pilots. However, the experience of Northern Ireland, where paper ID has been required since 1985 and photo ID since 2003, illustrates that there should be no issue with voters not knowing - once the requirement has become established. The Electoral Commission is responsible for carrying out an independent, statutory evaluation of the pilot schemes and will publish its findings in the summer of 2018; this will be an opportunity to review how the publicity arrangements operated and could be improved. This is one of the benefits of piloting the policy. Requiring some form of identification to vote was successfully tested at the local elections on 3 May by five local authorities: Bromley, Gosport, Swindon, Watford and Woking. The overwhelming majority of people cast their vote without a problem and the success of the pilots proves that this is a reasonable and proportionate measure to take, and there was no notable adverse effect on turnout. The estimate by the political lobby group the Electoral Reform Society is exaggerated and inaccurate. Data from Returning Officers across all fi…
answer given date: 2018-06-01+01:00
indexing and search uri: http://data.parliament.uk/correction/commons/2017-19/145358
correcting answer has question: IWeR3XP1
answer replaces answer: yPPXQKrA
answer has answering body: 7gnSwbLO
written answer has answering body: 7gnSwbLO