UK government plan to toughen voter ID rules draws criticism

The British government has announced contentious plans to toughen election voting rules by requiring photo identification at polling stations

LONDON -- The British government has announced contentious plans to toughen election voting rules by requiring photo identification at polling stations, a move it says will protect the democratic system against electoral fraud. But opponents and civil liberties groups say the law proposed by Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s Conservative government could disenfranchise millions of voters, particularly the poor and members of ethnic minorities. The government’s legislative agenda for the next year, announced Tuesday, includes a plan to tighten election rules for postal and proxy voting, and to require electors in U.K. general elections to show photo ID at polling stations. At present, Northern Ireland is the only part of the U.K. that requires voters to prove their identities at polling stations. Environment Secretary George Eustice said Wednesday that the changes would “protect the integrity of our electoral system” against fraud and had “nothing to do with party interests.”