This report examines the potential impacts of the Elections Act 2022 and the introduction of the requirement to show ID to vote in Great Britain. The importance of electoral integrity became part of the debate surrounding UK elections following the 2016 Pickles Report and attendant concerns over the robustness of the electoral process in this country. The Elections Act 2022 introduced the requirement for voters to show ID when voting in polling stations, with its introduction in the English local elections in 2023. This will potentially result in a significant extra burden on electoral administrators who will be required to implement this policy, on 4 May 2023. This report assesses, through interviews and surveys of those electoral administrators, the potential challenges faced by elections staff and the impacts these changes will have on future elections in Great Britain.
This publication presents the personal views of the author and not those of The Constitution Society, which publishes it as a contribution to debate on this important subject.