UK Elections: Photo ID Law Change Raising Concerns for Voters

Law changes bring several hassles for the public and government authorities. The recent photo ID law changes for voters have raised concerns for the public. According to the amendment, all voters have to show their photo ID in elections after 2023. The new norm was suggested by Boris Johnson’s government and the bill is expected to be introduced in spring. The law will be applicable for all UK-wide and English elections. However, there are a lot of obstacles that have to be overcome before enforcing the rule. 

Critics are arguing that the rate of identity fraud during elections is comparatively low, so there is no need to make photo ID mandatory for voters. Furthermore, this will increase ethnicity issues among minorities and working-class communities. 

“Changing the law and forcing people to show their photo ID to be a part of UK elections is a catastrophic move. This will not only result in rage and hatred among minorities but will also increase barriers to access leading to disenfranchising them.” This was a warning from equality and democracy campaigners upon the announcement of the photo ID law changes.  

Forcing people to show photo ID to participate in UK elections is a form of blatant voter suppression.

It would disproportionately affect ethnic minority communities, effectively disenfranchising them.

It was a tactic of Trump’s.

It has no place here.https://t.co/6d28QABkse

— Rachel Clarke (@doctor_oxford) March 9, 2021

The Telegraph says that the voter ID requirement will be a part of the Queen’s speech in spring and if the proposal is approved, photo ID law will be in action within the next two years. 

Photo ID Law – What Should Voters Do?

The Telegraph says that the voter ID requirement will be a part of the Queen’s speech in spring and if the proposal is approved, photo ID law will be in action within the next two years. 

Upon arriving at the polling stations, voters have to show a photo ID for verification. This ID could be a government-issued ID card, driver’s license, passport, rail, library, and bus cards. As of today, the polling station in mainland Britain asks for a name and address before providing the vote forms. However, a photo ID is obtained in Northern Island for handing out voting forms.

Photo ID Law – What’s Next?

The idea behind the new law is to prevent impersonation fraud during UK elections. But the rising concern for ethnicity issues is what the government should be worried about. Adding such requirements is likely to bring other issues which will not be in favour of any of the government in the region. 

On the contrary, the chances of a significant increase in identity fraud shouldn’t be surprising for the election committees. To combat all these challenges, there is a need for a solution that can prevent identity fraud and eliminate ethnicity issues. 

Digital identity verification is one of the viable options that the government authorities should opt for the UK elections. 

Digital Identity Verification for UK Elections

Digital ID verification solutions deploy thousands of artificial intelligence models to verify government-issued ID documents. Next, the face of the person is cross-matched against the image on the ID document to detect any biometric fraud attempts. 

Employing digital identity verification for UK elections can assist government officials in combating impersonation fraud and various other fraudulent activities during voting. Moreover, the AI-driven facial biometric verification does not bring any ethnicity issues. The AI algorithms are trained for verifying any individual in real-time irrespective of their background. 

Photo ID Law – How Can Shufti Help?

Shufti offers AI-powered identity verification solutions to various sectors including government agencies. Given the new photo ID law and increasing issues, the UK government needs a solution like ID verification to not only ease the verification process during UK elections but also reduce the ethnicity concerns of people. 

Being a globally accepted company, Shufti’s AI algorithms have been trained to verify any person that results in the least chances of bias results. Here’s how Shufti’s identity verification can assist in convenient enforcement of photo ID law in UK elections. 

• The voter will submit the ID document which will be verified for forgery or tampering.
• Then, a selfie will be obtained that will be matched against the photo on the ID document. 
• In case any spoof attempt is detected, the authorities will be immediately notified about suspicious voters resulting in fair elections. 

Shufti offers many integration options but the polling stations can benefit from our touchless identity verification kiosks for enhanced security and least burden. The kiosks are installed at security checkpoints and all the voter has to do is show his photo ID. document verification and face verification checks will be performed and a definitive yes/no result will be provided. 

Want to know more about Shufti’s identity verification?