Briefing: Photographic ID in UK Elections

Fair Vote UK advocates for democratic reform, campaign transparency, and digital regulation while Community Policy Forum is an independent think-tank specialising in the structural inequalities facing Muslim communities in the UK.

Consequently, removing structural barriers and ensuring marginalised communities have equal access to political participation is of primary concern for both of our organisations. As such, this joint briefing aims to raise our concerns surrounding the use of compulsory photographic identification in Parliamentary elections, local elections in England, and Police and Crime Commissioner elections. These concerns centre upon the disproportionate barriers created for already marginalised communities that serve to further disenfranchise them from the political process and full democratic participation.

It is notable that these concerns were raised repeatedly prior to the enactment of the Elections Act by ourselves, as well as a wide cross section of civil society, including the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, the Electoral Reform Society, Unlock Democracy, Open Britain, Demos, and the Runnymede Trust, to name but a few.