Deadline day 'act now' plea over controversial voter ID ahead of local elections
Voters across Greater Manchester have been urged to 'act now' to make sure they will be able to cast their ballot in the upcoming local elections.
The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, however, insists that the vast majority of voters will already own an accepted form of identification, which includes driving licences, blue badges, NUS Totum discount cards and Freedom travel passes for older people. As of last week, the number of people who had applied for a VAC was just under 70,000. That figure is far short of the Government's estimate that around 4 per cent of the population, equating to 2.1 million people, are likely to not have a valid form of photo ID to comply with the law change.
"It's blatant disenfranchisement of significant sections of the population and is a betrayal of those who fought and in some cases died to enable us all to exercise our democratic rights," she said. "Many people will have this already and for them it's just a case of remembering to take it with them when they go to vote. This includes UK and EU passports and photocard driving licences and other designated documents. Even if these have expired they can still be used as voter ID as long as they are still a good likeness of the elector.
They said: "You need a picture ID, I don't have a picture ID so that's out of the question automatically. It sucks if you're me, but I can imagine most people do have IDs so they can do it. It’s not going to be for me, but that's life." "It's already hard enough to motivate people to go out and vote," said Marena. "We live in Old Trafford, a low-income community. Many people here don’t have the resources or the time to dedicate to getting the necessary ID.""I'm happy with where I live and what the local council is doing," she said. "I enjoy living in a diverse community with a mix of people.
Meanwhile in Urmston, 78-year-old retired history teacher Peter Chappell is primed to vote or Labour. He said: “I think the photo ID idea came from the Republican Party in the USA. That’s how Donald Trump got in, and the Conservatives seem to be copying the idea."
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