The government dismissed private warnings by the election watchdog that the introduction of voter ID is neither “secure” nor “workable” by 2023, and intends to use next year’s polls as a “learning exercise” for the controversial scheme.
The astonishing assertion was made in correspondence between Conservative ministers and the Electoral Commission, obtained by this website under Freedom of Information law.
In them, the commission said it had “fundamental concerns” over the plan to make voters bring photo ID to polling stations – which it said could not “be delivered in a way which is fully secure, accessible and workable” in time for the local elections in May. It even said it was “alarmed” about the delivery of the Elections Act.
