Voting Restrictions

Palustris

Please sign this petition!  It is against changes which would mean people need to show photo ID in order to vote.

speakout.38degrees.org.uk/campaigns/dont-force-people-to-produce-id-to-vote?

I recommend ticking the no box to say that 38 Degrees can't contact you, if you're not already on their mailing list, because otherwise they send an awful lot of emails.

barry island

Not that I vote but what's the problem proving who you are?

Busy-Lizzie

I don't know why the British are so against having ID cards. We have them here in France and we need them to vote. I don't find it a problem. However, I think that the ID card for all should come before it's compulsory to have ID to vote. Then it's the same for everyone and doesn't discriminate.

BenCotto

I agree @Busy-Lizzie.

I read the preamble to the petition and sympathise with what 38° said. Then they ruined it by saying people might not have a “driver’s license”. Well, obviously. We’re not Americans. Here it is a driving licence without an s.

Obelixx

I agree.  ID cards are useful for so many things here and in Belgium and nobody bats an eyelid about producing them.  Prevents identity theft and all sorts of fraud.  It's a means of security, not an infringement of liberties.

I don't believe anyone should vote without proving they're entitled to and that means showing ID.

madpenguin

I would be very worried if any Tom,Dick or Harry could turn up and just vote without proving who they are!
So I shall not be signing any petition!

Palustris

So what about those people who will be disenfranchised because they do not have photo id available? I know of at least 5 people who will no longer be able to vote.

There is no evidence at all of voter fraud in Britain.

Obelixx

There has been @Palustris.  No driver's licence?  Passport?  

BenCotto

For folk who don’t have a driving licence or passport, an ID card can be bought for £15. Not cheap, but not hugely expensive either. Are these people “being disenfranchised” or are they disenfranchising themselves?

punkdoc

I can see both sides of this argument.
Unfortunately I believe that voter fraud is a real issue, but I am also very concerned that it is mostly the poor who do not have passports, or driving licences and who will become disenfranchised.
I got used to carrying a foreigners card when I worked in Holland and although some people think it is something reminiscent of nazism, it never bothered me.
The ultimate solution is surely national identity cards, which could double as multiple other things too. 
There should be no change to voting requirements until in place.

debs64

I have signed. We have never had or needed ID cards to vote so why change it now? I think the biggest problem facing most of us is deciding which of the incompetent criminals we want to rule over us rather than proving who we are. I don’t drive or have a valid passport. This affects me.