IT will be mandatory for voter ID at polling stations from 2023, the borough council has confirmed despite calls for the proposals to be withdrawn.

As previously reported, changes in the way elections are conducted have been outlined to councils across the UK. One of the most significant changes is the introduction of voter ID, which will require all electors to produce a form of photo identification - such as a passport, driving licence, immigration document or PASS card - to be eligible to vote.

This month the voter authority certificate scheme has launched which will enable electors who do not have appropriate photo ID to apply for a certificate. Then in May this year, voters will need to show their voter ID at the polling station before they are issued a ballot paper.

READ MORE: Cllr Andrew McCormick calls on council to withdraw from proposals for mandatory voter ID at polling stations

Opposition to voter ID has brought together a wide coalition, from homeless charities, groups representing elderly people and LGBT+ campaigners, to democratic organisations such as the Electoral Reform Society; each concerned that these proposals could shut out millions of legitimate voters from the ballot box.

Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council (BDBC) took to Facebook to share the news.

A spokesperson posted: "There's a new requirement to show photographic ID when voting at a polling station. This will be in place for the local elections in May. You may already have an acceptable ID, but if not you can apply for a free Voter Authority Certificate."

Cllr Andrew McCormick, the leader of the BDBC Labour group, introduced a motion on the proposals during a full council meeting last year.

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Speaking at the meeting he said: “This is a solution in search of a problem, on checking with our electoral services department we could find no examples of votes fraud going back a number of years as far as we could. Why then institute the requirement to introduce photographic ID in order to vote? The answer appears to be to make it harder to vote.

“Those without ID are likely to be the young, the less well-off and those without passports and those who can’t drive.

“It would be a different story if we had a national ID card scheme, but we haven’t and having to pay for ID is expensive."

Cllr David McIntyre took a different view.

During the meeting, he added: “An individual’s right to vote is one of the most fundamental rights we have within our society. Both the OSCE Office of Democratic Institutions and Human Rights and our very own Electoral Commission has recommended the introduction of the use of photographic ID in polling stations in the UK, as they see the lack of verification as being open to abuse.

Electoral registration officer Sue Cuerden said: “A policy decision made by the central government, which is now law across the UK, has introduced a requirement for voters to show photo ID when voting at a polling station. In Basingstoke and Deane, this new requirement will apply for the first time at the borough and parish elections on Thursday 4 May.”