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The government has directed the Electoral Commission to record only the limited reasons why voters without approved identification will be barred from polling stations in next week’s local elections.
Data collection rules allow people to vote, including Muslim women who refuse to remove their veil for religious reasons, and transgender people whose photo ID may not be considered alike. This means that many reasons for not being allowed are not published in official figures. They, and clinically vulnerable people who refuse to remove their face masks due to concerns over Covid-19.
The figures also do not include those presenting unauthorized youth travel cards or student IDs, or those who were recently married with a different surname on their ID.
England’s city council elections are the first time new voter ID legislation has come into force, and many groups are concerned that strict rules will exclude certain groups from voting.
The government has refused to confirm whether voters without identification will be fully recorded. I It can be made clear that there are restrictions placed on recording the reasons for people being excluded from the ballot box by election officials.
Polling place officials will provide an approved form of ID if someone’s photo ID is not considered a proper likeness or if the chairman believes the photo ID is a fake. We only collect data about people who have been denied a vote because they are unable to do so.
The figure could also be distorted, as people who were denied a ballot but returned to the polling place with an approved form of identification are included in the number of people denied a ballot. I have.
The official data collected by the Electoral Commission only includes those who have been denied a ballot once at a ballot desk within a polling place.
This means that those who were turned away from the “greetings” outside the polling place, or who forgot or didn’t know ID was required, will be denied voting next Thursday. It means that it is not included in the number that indicates the number.
On Thursday, Junior Level Up Minister Rachel McLean was criticized by lawmakers for refusing to answer basic questions about how data collection at polling stations would work.
After several opposition lawmakers asked for clarification on the issue, McLean accused them of making “high-pitched exaggerated claims” and “hysterical threats” about voter suppression.
The limited data collected during the election angered many groups representing segments of society and pro-democracy campaigners.
The British Muslim Council said: I They were “extremely concerned” that the new ID requirements would “become a deterrent and further reduce voter turnout from within the Muslim community across the UK”.
A spokesperson for the organization said:
“For example, one such concern is existing provisions that allow Muslim women who may wear the niqab to vote directly.”
The Election Reform Association added that voter ID rules in the UK will be more strictly enforced than in some US states.
Many states in the United States allow voters without the correct papers to vote and return to the polling place with an approved form of identification.
Jess Garland, director of policy and research at the Election Reform Association, said: Anyone coming to the polls next week without the correct ID will be denied.
“Far from improving our elections, by pushing these new rules, ministers will cause chaos and confusion in the electoral process, hurting legitimate voters.”
A spokesperson for the Election Commission said: I: “We will collect data from local councils in the week following Election Day. It will be published.”