Voter ID Act faces criticism as East Devon sees dismal response in applications

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Tiverton & Honiton MP Richard Foord has slammed the Conservative government’s controversial voter identification law as East Devon District Council reveals only 219 residents have applied for an Election Authority Certificate before the date April 24 deadline.

The new law requires voters to show photo ID or an “election authority certificate” to vote. Those who do not comply will be turned away from their polling station. The upcoming elections on May 4 will be the first test of the law which was hastily passed by parliament, despite the Electoral Commission’s warning that the trials were insufficient to draw conclusions.

The YouGov poll found that 16.6% of Tiverton & Honiton voters were unaware of the policy. Additionally, just over 5,000 under 25 and under 3,000 over 75 applied for the certificate, despite being the two groups least likely to vote.

Liberal Democrat MP Richard Foord condemned the new voter ID law as costly, bureaucratic and undemocratic. He said: ‘This is an imposition by Conservative Party bosses in London who fear above all else losing power.

“The requirement for an ‘Election Authority Certificate’ further complicates the process, as figures released by East Devon District Council prove.

“The fact that only 25% of voters in East Devon applied for a certificate and only 26 applications were received by the deadline shows how much this law flouts our democratic processes.

“Given turnout rates, we need to make voting simple – for young adults, old people or people in between – not introduce restrictions on people’s ability to exercise their democratic will.

“The last thing we should do is make people think there’s no point in trying to vote. It would hurt our democracy. Liberal Democrats have opposed this policy from day one and I will fight the abandonment of these new measures and protect our democracy.

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