While a 60+ Oyster card will be valid ID at a polling booth, an 18+ Oyster card won’t be.
Ahead of the local elections next month, the government has received scathing criticism at its rollout of voter ID.
The voter ID requirement is the biggest change to how our elections work in a generation with so many voters still unaware that they will need to show ID in order to be able to vote.
The Tories have been accused of gerrymandering and ‘legalised voter suppression’ after bringing in the requirements for voter ID from this May. The government says the measures have been bought in to combat fraud and ensure the integrity of UK elections, however the latest tracker of public opinion on the issue, found that 90 percent believe that voting at the polling station is safe, according to the Electoral Commission.
In 2019, the last general elections year, there were only 33 allegations of impersonation at the polling station, out of over 58 million votes cast.
When it comes to the forms of ID that are considered acceptable, younger voters are at a particular disadvantage. Six of the Government-accepted IDs are specifically targeted at older people, while almost none are aimed at younger people, leading to accusations that the government is engaged in ‘legalised voter suppression’.
While a 60+ Oyster card will be valid ID at a polling booth, an 18+ Oyster card won’t be.
Over the weekend Armando Iannucci tweeted a picture of the back of a polling card which set out the list of acceptable forms of voter ID.
Armando tweeted: “Card gives many options for elderly or those with disability. None, NONE, for younger or student voters. The policy is simply biased against younger voters, designed to suppress their vote.”
Rachel Clarke tweeted in response: “The acceptability of travel cards – but only if you’re >60 – is particularly cynical. Blatant voter suppression, targeted at the young. Absolutely disgusting.”
The Mayor of London Sadiq Khan shared the post and wrote: “Younger voters are being disenfranchised in London and across the country. And it’s a direct result of Government policy.”
Basit Mahmood is editor of Left Foot Forward
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