Omicron Covid-19 pass fury sheds light on the hypocrisy of voter ID laws acquiescence
With the surge of cases from the Omicron variant and the subsequent introduction of Plan B restrictions, how we monitor our identity – and crucially – our vaccine status, has sparked outrage from wings of the Conservative party.
For many, vaccine passports are a sensible step to minimise infection risks at large events or venues.
To others, they are a danger to personal freedoms that could see many people shut out of large parts of society due to their vaccine status.
But vaccine passports are not the only form of ID on ministers’ radar – proposals for mandatory voter ID, set out in the Conservative manifesto in 2019, are still very much on the government’s agenda.
These proposals, embedded in the heart of the Elections Bill, are a dangerous attack on our democratic rights that could lead to millions of legitimate voters being locked out of the polling station on election day.
On the face of it, requiring voters to show ID at polling stations may seem like a sensible, even necessary, policy. A simple measure to ensure that those casting a vote have the right to do so. But while the government claims the potential for fraud is there, the evidence it exists is hard to find.
In 2019 there were almost 600 alleged cases of electoral fraud investigated by the police from that year’s elections. Of this only 33 related to voter impersonation at a polling station – that is just 0.000057 per cent of the over 58m votes cast in all the elections that took place that year.
More critically forcing people to produce ID before they vote will create barriers for those who lack the required forms of ID. Unlike vaccine passports which are freely available, the UK has no free or low-cost ID option. According to official figures, 3.5 million people do not have access to photo ID in the UK and 11 million don’t have a passport or a driving licence.
And when it comes to those without ID it will be the most marginalised in society who are impacted the worst.
Disabled people, transgender and non-binary voters and black and ethnic minority voters are all less likely to have accurate and recognisable photo ID.
Just this week the Commons’ cross-party Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee (PACAC) urged the government to stop the passage of the Elections Bill to give more time to ensure that the bill is fit for purpose.
In a report from the committee, released on Monday, MPs said that more consultation was needed on the proposed reforms – particularly around voter ID which “will introduce a barrier preventing some people from exercising their vote.”
Far from improving our democracy, these plans risk locking millions of people out of our elections.
While MPs demand evidence-based policy on vaccine passports, they should require the same for any suggestions of voter ID.
Many have spoken out against vaccine passports, saying that the requirement to show Covid-19 status to access bars and venues is a step too far. But too few on the Conservative benches have launched a similar attack on measures which would inhibit access to our democracy.
Surely the right to vote is a more important right to defend than the right to see a concert or go to a nightclub?