Tuesday 27 December 2016

Biradari voting is a local problem

I agree with the Electoral Reform Society that the government's proposals for voter identification are a sledgehammer to crack a nut.  The ERS, which campaigns for changes to the electoral system to make it fairer, said the move was a "blunt instrument" that could deter people from voting. The only documents so far proposed as confirmation of identity, passport and driving licence, are less likely to be possessed by the poor and the elderly. Thus, unless a wider range of id (e.g. bus pass, tax assessment) is made acceptable, the move is sure to take out of voting a large section of the population.

In any case, voter personation is only a serious problem in a few localities in England, dominated by clans in particular ethnic communities. It is surely more sensible to give discretion to returning officers who feel they have particular trouble with voter fraud to institute special checks rather than impose the restrictions on the whole UK.

No comments: