Become a Creator today!Start creating today - Share your story with the world!
Start for free
00:00:00
00:00:01
Electoral Reform Special: Voter ID and Bank Cards
27 Plays1 month ago
Lily Russell-Jones explores the government's plans to expand acceptable voter ID to include bank cards, a key part of wider electoral reforms announced in July. The episode features Professor Ed Fieldhouse from Manchester University, who discusses research from the British Election Study showing that around 5% of voters lack valid photo ID, and how this disproportionately affects younger, less affluent, and geographically disadvantaged groups. The conversation examines the balance between election security and voter access, with insights from Adam Diver, a veteran unable to vote at the last election, and Megan Fitzgerald from the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights, who provides an international perspective on voter identification requirements. From the impact on turnout to the state's responsibility to prevent disenfranchisement, this episode offers a comprehensive look at one of the UK's most debated electoral reforms.
Recommended
Transcript
Introduction to Democracy Improvement
00:00:09
Speaker
Hello, you're listening to Observations, a podcast where we talk about democracy, how it works and how it could work better. I'm your host, Lily Russell-Jones.
Proposed Electoral Reforms
00:00:19
Speaker
In July, the government set out plans to reform our electoral system, including lowering the voting age to 16, changing voter ID to include bank cards and setting out new new rules to tackle the harassment of candidates.
00:00:33
Speaker
Today, we're focusing on plans to expand the list of acceptable voter IDs to include bank cards.
Bank Cards as Voter ID
00:00:40
Speaker
I'm joined first by Ed Fieldhouse, a professor of social and political science at Manchester University. Thank you for joining me, Ed.
00:00:47
Speaker
Hi, nice to see you. Later in the episode, we're going to hear from Adam Diver, a former soldier who was unable to vote at the last election because his veterans card wasn't accepted as a valid form of voter ID. Later on, we will also hear from the Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights, a group which monitors international elections.
00:01:07
Speaker
Ed, to start us off, why do you think the government has said bank cards will be accepted as a form of voter ID in future? And is this a positive step for our democracy?
00:01:18
Speaker
Well, I think the the most likely reason is that there is this problem that around 4% or 5% of voters or of electors don't actually have valid photo identification as it stands. So that you know potentially is quite a lot of a lot of people affected.
00:01:37
Speaker
Extending to bank cards obviously will overcome that problem for some of those voters. they I mean, I think around 96% of people have a bank account. So...
00:01:49
Speaker
You're likely to pick up quite a lot of extra people. Although, having said that, um there's likely to be quite a bit of overlap between not having other forms of photo ID, like driving licences and passports, and not having a bank card. So
Impact of Voter ID on Turnout
00:02:03
Speaker
you won't pick up 96% of those missing 5%, but you will you will pick up some of them.
00:02:13
Speaker
And do you think it's a good idea? I think it's a good idea um point of view of um and making more people able to vote. And I think that is a good thing. So my personal opinion is, yes, it's good idea. There are there is it obviously in a counter argument, which is that it's less secure than photo-based identification.
00:02:35
Speaker
So, yeah ah yeah, in theory, people could... ah borrow a bank card or yeah use somebody else's bank card to vote at a powering station in an unauthorized way. Before we get into that, can could you just introduce yourself and tell us a bit about the work that you do because you're a professor but you also have been involved with the British Election Study.
00:02:57
Speaker
Yeah, so my role um is principal investigator on the British election study. So this is a long running study of elections. It's been going since the 1960s, in fact.
00:03:10
Speaker
ah We took over this um study in 2014. And since then, we've been running a lot. Part of the study has been to run a large panel survey, um on online panel survey, where we interview about 30,000 voters every every year ah and around election time. So we talk to them at local elections and before and after general elections. One of the things we've done been doing since the introduction of, or since before before the introduction of VotoID is we've been asking about people's access to photo ID.
00:03:54
Speaker
And we've found that um around 5%, as I said before, of our respondents ah don't have any access to photo ID. So that's though that's the kind of context for the research that um um that we have on this.
00:04:09
Speaker
Let's
Demographic Effects of Voter ID
00:04:10
Speaker
talk about the impact that voter ID had on turnout at the last general election, because you could use passports and driving licenses and some travel passes or parking permits for people who had disability at the last election. But the Electoral Commission found that about 4% of non-voters said that they didn't vote because of the requirement to show voter ID. And democracy volunteers, so the organisation behind the Observations podcast, which trains volunteers to observe its elections, said that of about 18,600 voters that it observed, it saw turned away for having incorrect ID.
00:04:48
Speaker
so what did you make of those numbers They sound roughly plausible. um i mean, to break it down in in in ah in the British election study, which is probably the biggest study um of of of of eligible voters that looks at this, as I said, the overall percentage who don't have ID varies between 4% and 5%. So some people were turned away, and we there are official statistics on that, and our figures are roughly in line.
00:05:19
Speaker
um And then on top of that, the there are the people that um didn't have ID and gave that as the main reason they didn't vote.
00:05:30
Speaker
So overall, that accounts for somewhere between somewhere around one and a half percent of voters could be ah could be said not to have voted because of um because of lack of ID. The other people who didn't have ID, we found probably wouldn't have voted anyway or because they gave another reason, like they weren't interested or they were too busy or something like this. So so we can eliminate...
00:05:55
Speaker
ah you know some of that 5%, because obviously not everybody votes at elections. And the kinds of people that don't have ID are also quite likely to be the kinds of people who don't vote anyway. So people who are ah you know like um and less resources, maybe um they're out of work, and various characteristics of voters that make them less likely to vote always also make them less likely to have photo ID. Yes,
Disenfranchisement Concerns
00:06:24
Speaker
that was another area of your research that wanted to get into because there's been quite a lot of pushback against the idea of voter ID, some from campaign groups and charities. And it's because of this idea that certain groups of voters are less likely to have id and they basically might be disenfranchised by the introduction of voter ID. So your research found that about 5% of people in May 2024, so at the local elections, didn't have a valid form of vote voter ID. But it was certain groups, wasn't it, who were more affected than... others So could we talk about what those groups are basically? Yeah, so and age is an important factor um and there's a curious relationship with age so that um overall there's a general, ah younger people are actually relatively likely to have ID compared to um people who are middle aged. It slightly falls over time but then there's a jump where people over punishable age are actually more likely to ID.
00:07:25
Speaker
so and And that's because of um largely because of and photographic driving licences. ah the Older voters have been required to renew their driving licences, which since, I forget what date, um but since since relatively recently have had a ad photographic um I've had a photograph on the on the driving licence. So that makes a difference, as does um other IDs that um older voters have, like bus passes and things like that.
00:07:58
Speaker
um So age is important. um Education, education, People have degrees, people who more highly educated in general tend to be more likely to have ID, possibly because they're more likely to be travelling abroad and so on. Also people in more middle class occupations. um And ah people who are out out of work um or so or or economically inactive also less likely to to have to have photo ID.
00:08:29
Speaker
So it's generally associated with um being more, I suppose, affluent and um ah having more resources in other aspects of life as well.
00:08:43
Speaker
There's some geographical differences as well. So voters in the Scotland and the North tend to be more likely to lack ID than voters in London or the South East. Yeah, and I know that you said that the instances of fraud that were picked up were quite low. So I think according to the Electoral Commission, between 2020 and 2024, there were 1,300 about cases of alleged fraud. And there were eight convictions and three cautions as a result. So that's quite low in terms of the numbers of kind of fraud cases which have been picked up. So do you think that we're striking the right balance between protecting the process and making sure it's secure versus...
00:09:22
Speaker
making sure people aren't getting disenfranchised by these new rules?
Debate on Necessity of Voter ID
00:09:27
Speaker
Personally, i mean, it obviously this is a trade-off, this's and it's a matter of opinion what the right way forward is.
00:09:33
Speaker
um But personally, I think that ah it's a bit of a... it it the the The effects are probably disproportionate for the advantages that are gained. So, as you say, the number of proven fraud is very low, right?
00:09:52
Speaker
and the the effect on ah the the number of voters that are affected is quite large, even even if it's only 5%, it's a large number of people. So ah personally, I think making voting easier is probably a much more sensible um approach.
00:10:10
Speaker
And you've got to remember that voting is important part of democracy, but it doesn't deliver huge amounts of obvious immediate benefits to the individual. So they're doing a kind of social good, if you like.
00:10:26
Speaker
And you don't want to discourage that. the The relative benefits from voting, like i might influence the outcome, are pretty small. um So anything that increases the costs is likely to unbalance that kind of equation and and make people less likely to vote. So, um you know, unless in the absence of a huge problem of fraud, I i think it is probably an unnecessary hindrance.
00:10:57
Speaker
And anything that reduces that is a good thing. It's people in more marginalised, disadvantaged positions that tend to tend to miss out on, you know, tend to not vote, tend to not have and um um bank cards and not have passports or not have driving licences or whatever it may be. so It is very likely to be the same people.
00:11:17
Speaker
i mean, one group we haven't talked about, which I think you know is probably a good example of that, is is is is disabled voters. We've done some separate research on that, which showed they're about 20 40% more likely to lack voter ID.
00:11:33
Speaker
um And, you know, said there is groups that are disadvantaged in multiple ways. um and And not having this kind of identification is one of those ways in which they're disadvantaged.
00:11:47
Speaker
And what else has the government said will be changing? Because it's talked about expanding the list of acceptable voter IDs to include bank cards. It's allowed veteran cards to be on the list of accepted voter IDs. um And it said that digital forms of ID will also be accepted.
00:12:03
Speaker
Yeah, I'm not aware i'm not aware of other of other changes that are in are in the pipeline. um But I think the... um i mean, bank cards is a pretty wide... A lot of people have bank cards, so that's going to make the biggest difference.
00:12:19
Speaker
Overall... A small number of types of ID make up the vast majority, right? so they So something like of the people with ID, 95 or 96% of them have a vote have have a passport or a driving license.
00:12:36
Speaker
well Just two things account for 95% of the ID. only Only about 5% rely on something else. So you're only talking about ah small proportion of ah of people that use these more unusual forms of identification.
00:12:55
Speaker
So if you add a third very common common type, you're you know you're going to pick up the vast majority of people that you're going to get. So I think other editions will be make very marginal difference.
00:13:10
Speaker
Okay. And so in terms of just coming to a final question, just thinking about this balance between keeping our democracy safe, between strengthening it and also making sure that everybody has their right to vote, would you want to go back to a system where there isn't a requirement for voter ID? Do you have any ideas about how you would how you would try and balance those things?
00:13:32
Speaker
It's difficult, isn't it? Because once once you've made a change, going back can be... can be problematic. I think it would be a bad look and it would um would probably undermine confidence more than not having done it in the first place.
00:13:51
Speaker
I think the genie's out of the bottle, basically. I think people, you know, by raising the issue of photo ah photo ID and potential fraud, but you And you have alerted people to um to possibly distrust other other voters.
00:14:10
Speaker
So I think going back would be very difficult. And I think the right way forward is is to make it is to make it as easy as possible. so there And there are other ways you can do that. You can allow vouching, for example, so where another ah another eligible voter who with Voto ID can vouch for somebody who who who lacks ID. and And I think that's been shown to work in other countries.
00:14:35
Speaker
um And, yeah, so i don't think going back to no ID is necessarily the the the right way forward.
Personal Voting Challenges
00:14:46
Speaker
We're now going to hear from Adam Diver, a 50 year old from Lancashire who works for the NHS and spent 27 years working for the military. He was unable to vote at the last general election because of voter ID requirements. Thank you so much for joining us, Adam. No, thanks for having me.
00:15:02
Speaker
How did you feel about being unable to vote at the last general election? and like you'd Like the introduction you said, I spent spent a long time in the military, 27 years, and I travelled the world and I've pretty much gone to most of the war zones within that time, Iraq a couple of times, Afghanistan, Bosnia, Northern Ireland. and So leaving leaving the forces was pretty difficult.
00:15:26
Speaker
and And when I left left the army, I was given my veteran's ID. So I've had my ID now for... I was probably one of the first to get it. So I left in 2019. And I think I got it pretty much as I left or maybe six months after. And so I had it in maybe 2020, 21, give or take. So it's always been on my person. I've got it here now if you if you if you want to see it I can describe it for you and and and show you in a second. So it's always been on my person in my wallet.
00:15:57
Speaker
and And when the election came up, I obviously got it through the the post that I needed to have some sort of ID to go to my polling station. So I didn't think twice about it, really. and So my ID was in in in my pocket. I went to the polling station. i was quite early because I was going to work. I worked for the NHS now as a therapist. So I got there pretty much ah opening time, about 7, 8 o'clock, getting there.
00:16:23
Speaker
eight o'clock, give or take. and And I went over to the yeah to the booth, showed me ID, and and lovely young lady just said, no, um' I'm sorry, it's not on our list, you you can't use it. So I actually said, oh can you double-check? Because this ID was issued by the Ministry of Defence. It's got the crown on it, it's got watermarks on it, it's got, if found, please post it to XYZ or hand it in to your police station. So pretty much this is, I would say, you know, pretty, pretty good ID. Yeah, it's a very official form of ID. So were you very surprised that they wouldn't accept it?
00:17:04
Speaker
Yeah. so this woman said, I'll get somebody else over. So they had about three people now checking my ID and checking through this booklet with different ID on it. And she said, I'm really sorry, you can't use it. So I was pretty shocked at that time. So I was i got on my bike and cycled and to to work. And as I got into work, it started to hit me that that actually, no, this is not great. This is this is wrong. Why have they not accepted this? I've just spent 27 years in the army, et cetera. So I ah ah put a tweet out. I'm not sure if you've seen it. This was a couple of years ago. I tagged in and the Veterans Minister,
00:17:41
Speaker
And the Shadow Veterans Minister, and obviously it it took off from there. and And quite a few people retweeted it. I think it went, Carol Vorderman got hold of it and other celebrities. and And then the process started to come to light that that this was you're not acceptable by now. Yeah, and your story was actually picked up by a number of newspapers, wasn't it, such as the Evening Standard, the Telegraph and the BBC. So did that feel quite surreal that you got... It was strange because I put the tweet out as I was being a little bit upset and a bit angry.
00:18:13
Speaker
And then obviously I didn't look at my phone for about four hours and I put my phone on and it was red hot and people were phoning me asking me what had gone on. So it was a bit shock. and And then I obviously followed it up by by talking to different people, talking to to ministers. And then um quite a few months later when the new government came in, it it got accepted. And we're here now where we can use it for voting. So all ends what ends well.
00:18:38
Speaker
Yes, and um the veterans card is now considered a valid form of voter ID. yeah
Policy Changes Post-Incident
00:18:43
Speaker
And in July, the government said it would legislate to make sure that was the case in Ireland. And also it was going to introduce a digital version of the veterans card. So they made it really clear that they they wanted to change this so that it was now an acceptable form of ID. And how did you feel to see those changes announced?
00:19:00
Speaker
Changes are great, brilliant. I think we still need the actual physical ID because there's a lot of veterans who may not have a mobile phone, believe it or not, they might be you know i mean in in sort of different accommodation, might be even living on the street. So we we still need this version. The digital version is good as well, as long as obviously it can't be copied and fraud, etc. But yeah, it is good that you you could use it. But... I would have thought and it is my fault that, you know what I mean, I took it for granted that you could use it and clearly ah I couldn't.
00:19:34
Speaker
And on the day itself when you wanted to vote in the general election, um how come you couldn't go back and get a valid form of ID that you could use to vote on the day? There's a couple of reasons. One was work.
00:19:45
Speaker
So I had work and I wasn't finishing until till late. And then it was just a case of, and well, I can't use that idea. I'm not going to vote this time pretty much. I've i've got a couple of kids and they had school clubs to go to and and different things. And it was one of them things where I've tried. I've used the idea. It didn't work. So that's me done for the day. I've got i've got other things going on. So that was that was probably the reasons why i didn't go back.
00:20:09
Speaker
Yeah, absolutely. And I think, you know, you really have to set aside that time, don't you, to go and vote because it has to be done in person. So not being able to do it twice and go home in between is totally understandable between things like work and kids.
00:20:22
Speaker
just Just life takes over. You you plan it beforehand. I did plan it before work. Go and vote, go to work and that that's it. Job done. So putting back into that routine is difficult.
00:20:34
Speaker
Yeah, and there were a number of people who fell foul of the new voter ID rules on the day, including actually the former Prime Minister Boris Johnson. I saw the story that he was initially turned away because he didn't have the valid form of ID yeah and then he had to go home to get it.
00:20:49
Speaker
But what is your view on the new requirement to have voter ID at elections? I think i think you you need some sort of ID as long as it's official, and the driving licence, et cetera. But i think I think it's extended maybe to bank cards or so some other sorts of of ID, and which is fine as as long as people can't reproduce it at mass or fraud. It's got your photograph on it. It's got some sort of, I don't know, some sort of watermarker. You can't basically reproduce it like this. This is pretty official.
00:21:21
Speaker
and So as long as it's like that, I'm... pretty certain that'll be that I'll be fine. So your view is that you're not against voter ID as a whole. You think that it's a good idea to make sure elections are secure, but you felt that it was unfair that an official form of ID, such as a veteran's card, wasn't actually included on the list.
00:21:42
Speaker
Especially when I think, I don't I've not seen the actual list, but they did ask me, I can't remember what they did, they asked me if they had, I don't know, what sort of ID was on it. And I was like, can't believe you're asking me for this. I'm not sure what it was.
00:21:53
Speaker
They asked me a couple of things and I was like, are you, basically said, you for real? Are you not accepting this? It's got the Queen's crown on it. and And you're asking me for this. And so, yeah, this this to and fro, which was pleasant, it was it wasn't bad. and to and fro questions that I was asking these ladies about my ID.
00:22:13
Speaker
and yes so Yeah, so we ended up going home. And if your bank card had been allowed at the last general election, would you have been able to cast your vote? Yeah.
00:22:26
Speaker
I don't always carry a bank card on me, to to be fair. I have to go home and get it because I have actually pretty much the same as a digital ID. I've got my bank card on the phone and So it probably would have meant me going home to go and get my bank card.
00:22:39
Speaker
And I might not have done that. Because obviously you're you're a former soldier, you'll obviously be aware of the risks and security risks which come with perhaps not showing an ID to vote. um So do you think that we need to make sure that we get this balance right of making sure the system is secure, but also making sure that nobody is denied their right to vote as as you were at the last election?
00:23:00
Speaker
I think security is the main aim, as long as you're secure at doing it. And and that that ID corresponds with a person handing it over. I think there should be no problem. And obviously you've got people who are trained at looking at the ID, who you're handing it to us at the polling station, they're fully trained as well, and and do question the ID and making sure it is real, if you will, which might be even more difficult if it's on a phone.
00:23:23
Speaker
and And that would be quite difficult to prove or disprove. So having the plastic version for me and is is better. and But yeah, as long as you've got trained people to to look for things that aren't seem right, then I don't think there should be any problem. But I think security is the ah the first thing on making sure that obviously the people's vote is is is secure.
00:23:47
Speaker
And at the next election that comes up, will you be taking your veteran's ID card with you? I will be taking it because I voted in the last and local elections with my ID. So i went I went and took my ID very proudly and and then voted with it. So, yeah, I actually yeah did it last time.
00:24:05
Speaker
OK, good. And did that help to kind of heal some of the the hurt of not being allowed to vote at the general election? Well, I went in exactly the same. I went in early. I was probably on the first in with a little bit of anxiety thinking, here we go.
00:24:17
Speaker
I'm going test it. i probably out I was thinking if they don't accept it this time, I wasn't going to send a tweet out or anything like that. i was just going to get on my bike and go to work and just give in probably. and But yeah, handed over my ID and it was absolutely fine. There was no issues at all.
00:24:33
Speaker
Oh, brilliant. OK, well, thank you so much for your time, Adam. That's all been really helpful. No worries. Thanks for having me. I'm now joined by Megan Fitzgerald from the Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights, an international organisation based in
Importance of Voter ID
00:24:47
Speaker
Poland. Thank you so much for joining me, Megan.
00:24:51
Speaker
Thank you for having me, Lily. 2005 2010, ODIHR published reports which recommended that the UK introduce voter ID. In your view, why is it so important for people to bring voter ID with them when they vote in an election?
00:25:08
Speaker
yeah Thanks for the question. ODEER has observed a number of elections in the UK and ah we've done that so with expert teams based in in London and assessing the entirety of the election process, including requirements for voting and the legal frameworks for the entire process.
00:25:33
Speaker
um And we indeed, we in 2005 and 2010, we did make those recommendations for voter IDs in follow-up to our assessment of the process and the procedures that were in place and the safeguards that were in place. And I mentioned safeguards because one of the reasons why voter identification is so important is that ah the voter The process not only needs to be safeguarded from any potential voter fraud, but it also needs to be perceived as such. So voters really need to have trust that there's no opportunities for fraud.
00:26:15
Speaker
even even if the fraud isn't taking place or is is minimal, um it's more important what's most important is that voters have the trust and confidence that the process is secure from that and safeguarded from that.
00:26:33
Speaker
So when we look at our elections as ah international observers, We assess the elections against international commitments and standards and principles for democratic election, you know including universality and equality.
00:26:52
Speaker
And ah in universality means that everyone must have the opportunity to vote, meaning their their opportunity should not be taken away, or the value of the vote should not be taken away by fraud. But it's ah it's not just about preventing the fraud, but it's also about giving the voters the trust in in their process and the robustness of the safeguards in the election process.
00:27:20
Speaker
Okay. And could you tell listeners a little bit about ODEER and your role within it? Because you observe elections all over the world, i believe. Yeah. ODEER is OSE's human rights branch. And we work in everything in the areas of the human dimension of the OSE commitments.
00:27:41
Speaker
um And the OSE is 57 countries. And... a We observe, I'm personally the head of the election department at ODIR, and the election department at ODIR the one responsible for all the observation activities of OSCE.
00:28:00
Speaker
And we observe elections, national mainly national elections, but at times local elections as well, in those ah participating states of the OSCE.
00:28:12
Speaker
um where we have identified a need to observe. And it can be a need based on ah new developments in the process, new laws and new legal requirements, um new procedures, or it can be on the basis of issues of trust and confidence in the ability to administer the elections fairly and impartially.
00:28:39
Speaker
Brilliant. And um the UK government set out plans to let people use voter ID in an elections act introduced two years ago. So following that recommendation from ODEA, it's now said that it's going to allow people to use bank cards at future elections as a form of voter ID. and What's your view on that? Does that feel like backtracking on the voter ID requirement?
00:29:04
Speaker
I think i it is very normal process for an election commission to when introducing a requirement to do ah research and to be informed about what impact that might have on voters' ability to vote, um and also to critically review um how it went when they have an election, um and to assess if they need to make any additional changes to the law.
00:29:39
Speaker
um And ah in this case, that is ah One of the considerations that they are having at the moment, the they reported back after the elections, that they the they have identified a need for in expanding the list of acceptable identification means. um and including and are considering including the bank cards. So it is normal to review that and as long as the priority should be to that voters are not disenfranchised, that they are either enabled with the the identification means that they need in order to be able to vote, or or they are assisted in getting those.
00:30:34
Speaker
Well, I think you set out really clearly the argument for having voter ID, which is this idea of making sure that the election is really robust and trustworthy. People obviously need to have faith in the result of an election if democracy is going to function properly. But there are some counter arguments that I wanted to get your thoughts on, because one of them is that it undermines democracy to have voter ID because it disenfranchises the group's that don't actually have it. So we heard earlier in this episode from Professor Ed Fieldhouse, who's at ah Manchester University, and his research found that about 5% of potential voters don't have an ID which could be used um as a valid form of ID in an election. So I really wanted to get your thoughts on that kind of interplay between making sure that an election is robust and making sure that everybody gets their say.
00:31:23
Speaker
Yeah,
Balancing Security and Accessibility
00:31:24
Speaker
um When a state decides to adopt a new requirement, um they then have a positive responsibility to also make sure that it doesn't disenfranchise any voters. So and then it becomes on cumbersome on the state to ensure that all of the voters, eligible voters, do have identification.
00:31:52
Speaker
And if they don't have it, to provide it. um and that can be quite a lengthy and involved task for a state to move from ah not having voter identification mechanisms to having having them um and making sure that all the voters in the country are equipped with an identification that will work on election day.
00:32:22
Speaker
um I'm from the United States and then the United States also has a hit a culture and a history of not having voter IDs. And ah there it is linked to... ah a fear and a desire to make sure that there's no discrimination ah in access to voting, and access to the polls.
00:32:50
Speaker
um And ah the worry is that since voter sends regular identity cards in the United States um aren't free, and there's costs involved with ah obtaining them, then that might disenfranchise some voters um because they shouldn't have to incur additional costs in order to be able to vote.
00:33:15
Speaker
So yes, and that's when i when I mentioned earlier, we don't make the recommendation in isolation. ODEAR does um in as part of its work, assist states with understanding how to implement the recommendations and what additional considerations there might be when in introducing or ah one of our recommendations or introducing new requirements. So there the the question is,
00:33:47
Speaker
you know, they would have, they had, and they still have the responsibility of making sure that their voters have a means of identifying themselves and meeting the requirements.
00:34:01
Speaker
um there And that can be evolving, which is what we're seeing in in the UK. They did reflect and report back on the their own administration of the last elections. And the fact that they needed to introduce or widen the...
00:34:26
Speaker
ah yeah possibilities for identifying yourself ah for in order to make sure that voters aren't disenfranchised. Well, thank you so much for your time, Megan. It's been really interesting to speak to you. Do you have any closing thoughts on the topic of voter ID?
00:34:42
Speaker
you know You can't have one without the other. You can't have the requirement without the also the effort to make sure that every voter has can meet that requirement. so And of course, you have to have a the research and ah support to know and to be able to confidently say that the voters do have that the means to to meet that requirement. I mean, do have existing identity cards or you can provide them for them.
00:35:15
Speaker
Okay, well, thank you so much for your time. Thank you. You've been listening to Observations and I've been your host, Lily Russell-Jones. If you do not have a photo ID that allows you to vote, you can apply for a voter authority certificate for free.
00:35:31
Speaker
You can apply on the gov.uk website and you'll normally need a digital photograph of yourself and your national insurance number to apply. Today, you've heard from Ed Fieldhouse, a professor of social and political sciences at Manchester University, Adam Diver, an NHS worker, and Megan Fitzgerald, the head of elections for the Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights.
00:35:53
Speaker
If you've been affected by any of the issues we discussed in today's episode, or you'd like to share your thoughts, you can get in touch with us over email at observations.podcast at democracyvolunteers.org.
00:36:07
Speaker
Or you can leave us a comment on our YouTube channel. ah You can find us at Observations Podcast with no spaces. In the coming weeks, I'll continue to cover the government's planned electoral reforms.
00:36:19
Speaker
Thank you very much for listening.
00:36:31
Speaker
The Observations podcast is being brought to you by Democracy Volunteers, the UK's leading election observation group. Democracy Volunteers is non-partisan and does not necessarily share the opinions of participants in the podcast. It brings the podcast to you to improve knowledge of elections, both national and international.