The UK Government has announced a multimillion-pound plan that would stop people from voting in elections unless they can show photo ID. 

This is a terrible move that will badly impact voters who are from underrepresented and marginalised backgrounds. It is voter suppression.

The argument against voter ID is clear: With very few cases of voter fraud, photo ID verification on a national scale would be disastrous and would see so many more people left out of the decision-making process.

The numbers make this obvious. 3.5 million people currently do not have access to photo ID and 11 million people currently do not have a passport or driving license. 

Even Matt Hancock, a government minister, admitted there were just six cases of voter fraud at the last election. It’s not a big enough problem to justify disenfranchising millions of people.

When voter ID was trialed in just ten UK areas in 2019, 2,000 voters were turned away from the polling station. On a national scale, this would see many left out from voting. And it would likely be those who do not traditionally engage in politics or do not have a form of photo ID who would be left out of voting.

Voter ID also disproportionately impacts trans people, who face barriers to changing their legal gender and often don't have identification which matches their gender identity. This means at the polls, they would be challenged or turned away when their appearance and name don't match what their ID says. 

I run a youth-led non-partisan political charity called My Life My Say, which seeks to get young people, especially those from underrepresented communities, involved in politics. So I am speaking up particularly for young people here. They are much less likely to have a passport or driving licence. What message does it send to young people that their vote isn’t as important?

Our government should be helping people to get involved in politics, and having their voices heard at the ballot box, not making the situation worse with voter ID. 

Everyone deserves their right to vote, regardless of whether they possess a form of photo ID or not.