Voters to face ID checks in pilot scheme

CALL for identification... Electoral Commission say voters should have to provide ID.

OLDHAM will be among 18 areas included in the government's pilot to combat electoral fraud.

Councils in England, including Tower Hamlets, Bradford, Luton and Birmingham, will trial the scheme at local elections in 2018.

The Electoral Commission has identified 18 local authority areas that it considers to be most at risk of allegations of electoral fraud and has invited applications from those councils to participate in its pilot schemes.

Voters in those areas will be required to bring ID to prove who they are before they can vote, to prevent anyone fraudulently taking another person's ballot paper.

Councils will be invited to trial different types of identification, including forms of photo ID such as driving licences and passports, or correspondence such as a utilities bill to prove address, backed by a signature check.

The government will also introduce legislation to ban political campaigners from handing in large numbers of postal ballots on election day.

The reform was first suggested by anti-corruption tsar and former communities secretary Sir Eric Pickles in August, when he released recommendations amid growing concerns about fraud.

Sir Eric cited research suggesting certain Pakistani and Bangladeshi communities could be more vulnerable to fraud due to a lack of understanding of the process.

Some of the key recommendations under consideration include a ban on the handling of completed postal ballots by political campaigners, limiting it to family members or carers, and requiring people to re-register for postal votes every three years.

The creation of a new form of ID for voting has been ruled out.

Campaigners said levels of fraud did not justify the move while Labour said it amounted to voter "suppression". Frmer London mayor Ken Livingstone, who is suspended from Labour, criticised the proposals, saying they would unfairly affect those more likely to vote for Labour.

In May, the Chronicle reported that electoral fraud in Oldham was being investigated by police after four allegations of individuals voting under someone else's name had been reported, after council elections on May 5.