By Zaima Khaliq
Voters will have to show their passports or driving licences before casting their ballot in vulnerable areas with large Muslims and South Asian populations, according to new government legislations.
The voter ID scheme is set to be implemented in areas which have been identified by police as well as Electoral Commission as being vulnerable to voting fraud, including Birmingham and Bradford.
The Government are also looking into introducing legislations to ban political campaigners from accumulating and handing in large quantities of completed postal ballots on election-day, in hopes of reducing electoral fraud.
In an article for the Telegraph, Minister for the Constitution, Chris Skidmore, comments: “We already ask that people prove who they are in order to rent a car, buy a mortgage or travel abroad and I believe we should go further by taking the same approach to protect voting rights.
“In many other transactions ID is an essential requirement – voting for a democratically elected government, your MP or your councillor is one of the most important transactions someone can make and it is right that in turn their identity and the security of their vote should be protected.”
As well as Birmingham, the scheme will also take place in Blackburn with Darwen, Bradford, Bristol, Burnley, Calderdale, Coventry, Derby, Hyndburn, Kirklees, Luton, Oldham, Pendle, Peterborough, Slough, Tower Hamlets, Walsall, and Woking.
Sir Eric Pickles, a former Conservative Cabinet minister, claims that election fraud had been allowed to take place in Muslim communities because of “political correctness.”
In his report, Sir Eric cited research that suggested certain Pakistani and Bangladeshi communities could be more vulnerable to fraud, due to a lack of understanding of the voting process.
He mentioned how cultural “kinship” and traditions could affect voting strategy, adding that they emphasised collective over individual rights which made it more likely that people would “hand over” their vote over to others.
He explained that authorities were in a “state of denial” and were “turning a blind eye” to election fraud.
The Government has deemed Sir Eric’s report as a vital warning, adding: “vulnerabilities cannot be allowed to continue and undermine our democracy”.
Ministers are now appealing for higher authorities to enable Police to monitor polling stations where candidates may be ‘intimidating’ voters.
The government will also be looking to crack down on voters using their smartphones to take pictures while casting their votes.
Former Lond
on mayor Ken Livingstone, disagreed with the proposed plans saying that it would unfairly affect those more inclined to vote Labour.
He adds: “Just think of the uproar there would be if we said there’s an awful lot of shoplifting going on, we’re going to search every customer as they leave.
“It is really bad to make life more difficult for the vast majority of people just when you are dealing with a handful of dodgy council candidates.
“The real problem is the people most likely not to have a passport or a driving licence are going to be the poorest.
“And that I suspect, once again – like the decision last year to knock a lot of people off the electoral register- will basically hit the Labour Party.”
The pilot scheme will be trialled during the local elections in May 2018 before they are rolled out nationwide.
