Government Warns: Bring Photo ID to Vote in Local Elections
The government is slamming the message home: if you’re voting in person in England’s local elections on Thursday 4 May 2023, don’t forget your photo ID. No ID, no vote.
This marks the first time England is joining the rest of the UK—following Northern Ireland’s lead since 2003—in requiring photo identification to crack down on voter fraud.
Why Photo ID Is a Game Changer
Introducing voter ID aims to stamp out fraud and protect election integrity. The government trialled ID checks in 2018 and 2019 with near-perfect success—for instance, Woking saw 99.9% of voters breeze through with their photo ID. Both the Government and Electoral Commission will review this election’s impact.
Most voters already hold an accepted ID: driving licences, passports, blue badges, student cards, and Voter Authority Certificates all count.
Michael Gove: “Bring Your ID!”
Levelling Up Secretary Michael Gove said:
“If you’re planning to vote in person at your local elections, you must remember to bring accepted photo identification with you to the polling station. These changes will prevent electoral fraud and ensure elections remain free and fair. You can use a wide range of photo ID such as a driving licence, but make sure you check eligibility before heading out to vote.”
What Counts as Accepted Photo ID?
- Driving licence (including provisional)
- Passport
- PASS cards (like NUS Totum, Post Office, Young Scot)
- Blue Badge
- Biometric residence permit
- Defence Identity Card
- National identity cards from the EU, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein
- Northern Ireland Electoral Identity Card
- Voter Authority Certificate
- Anonymous Elector’s Document
- Older person’s and Disabled person’s bus passes
- Oyster 60+ card
- Freedom Pass
- Scottish National Entitlement Card
- Welsh Concessionary Travel Cards (60 and over, disabled)
- Northern Ireland concessionary travel pass
Check your polling card and head to gov.uk for all the info.
The Bigger Picture
These photo ID rules come from the Elections Act 2022, designed to block all kinds of electoral fraud, including postal vote scams. The Electoral Commission backs the move, noting that since Northern Ireland introduced voter ID, no cases of impersonation have been reported and public confidence in election integrity is sky-high.
