The everyday blog of Richard Bartle.
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12:59pm on Friday, 27th January, 2023:
Anecdote
For the up-coming local elections, voting in person will now require a photo ID.
I don't like the idea of this. It's a step in the direction of identity cards, which I regard as a tool of oppression. Given that in-person vote-stealing hardly ever happens and that postal voting fraud (which doesn't need any photo ID) is much easier, it's hard to see why this inconvenience is justified on purely electoral grounds. More people are likely to lose their vote by not having photo ID than are likely to lose it because someone else claimed to be them at the polling station.
If you don't have a photo ID, OK, you can apply for a Voter Authority Certificate online. All you need is your National Insurance number and a photograph. Well, all someone needs is that. If you don't have "online", you can ask for an application form over the phone and send it by post to the council. If you don't have a phone, oh well.
In my view, this moves the locus of corruption from easily-imprisonable individuals to future governments who want to ensure that the people who vote really are the people who will vote (for that future government).
I haven't looked up whether the union of postal workers has strikes planned for late April and early May.
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Copyright © 2023 Richard Bartle (richard@mud.co.uk).