- This is the first general election voters will have to show ID beforehand
- Passports, driving licences as well as a blue badge are all valid forms of ID
Britons should ensure they have the correct photo identification to vote before heading to the polling station today, the Electoral Commission has warned.
This year is the first time in the UK that everybody wanting to vote in person at a general election will have to show ID before receiving a ballot paper.
Not all types of photo ID will be accepted at polling stations, but a passport, driving licence or blue badge are valid.
Other forms of permitted ID include an Older Person’s or Disabled Person’s Bus Pass or an Oyster 60+ card, the new free Voter Authority Certificate, and an identity card bearing the Proof of Age Standards Scheme hologram (a Pass card).
Polling stations will be open from 7am to 10pm.
The Electoral Commission has warned Brits up and down the country to be ready with their ID today (pictured: ballot box count underway in 2023)
This general election is the very first where voters will have to show a valid form of ID before being handed a ballot sheet (file image)
Craig Westwood, director of communications at the Electoral Commission, said: ‘This is the first time at a UK general election where voters will need to show photographic ID before they can receive their ballot paper.
‘Bringing an accepted form of ID means your voice can be heard at the ballot box.
‘Before heading to the polling station, check to make sure that you have the ID you need to vote.
‘It needs to be an original version, copies and pictures won’t be accepted.
‘If you don’t remember your ID when you arrive at a polling station, you can return with it later in the day.
‘Anyone in a queue at 10pm will be able to cast their vote.’
Voters can find information on their local polling station by entering their postcode on the Electoral Commission website.
Postal votes must be returned by 10pm and can also be handed into polling stations and council offices.
If voters lose their ID, they can appoint an emergency proxy to vote on their behalf up until 5pm on election day.
Former prime minister Boris Johnson was turned away from a polling station after forgetting to bring a photo ID in May’s local elections.
Polling stations will be open to the public from 7am until 10pm, with passports, driving licences and blue badges being accepted as valid forms of ID (stock image)
Ex-Prime Minister Boris Johnson introduced voter ID rules as part of the Elections Act 2022 in a bid to tackle in-person fraud (stock image)
Photo ID rules were brought in by Mr Johnson’s government as part of the Elections Act 2022, as the Government said they were necessary to combat the risk of in-person voter fraud.
The requirements were first enforced at the May 2023 local council elections in England.
A report published in June 2023 by the Electoral Commission estimated that at least 0.25 per cent of people who tried to vote at a polling station in those elections were not issued with a ballot paper because of the ID rules, the equivalent of approximately 14,000 voters.
Voter ID has been a requirement for elections in Northern Ireland since 2002.
