Agenda item

This report provides an update on the implementation of the voter ID requirements of the Elections Act 2022. It sets out the key findings from reports published by the Electoral Commission and the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities, and provides further details of activities being undertaken to support residents to vote.

The Chair introduced the item, noting that with Mayoral and GLA elections in May and a General Election on the horizon the Board wanted to ensure the Council was doing everything possible to include and encourage people to take part in the democratic process.

Zoe Wilkins (Electoral Services Manager) presented the report that provided an update to the previous report to the Board on 20 June 2023 on the implementation of voter ID. The report set out the key findings from reports published by the Electoral Commission and the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities, and provided further details of activities undertaken to support residents to vote.

Councillor Victoria Brocklebank-Fowler asked if the Council was prepared for the upcoming elections. She also noted that there would be a national voter ID advertising campaign and suggested putting local information in the Council Tax leaflet in April. Zoe Wilkins said the Council was prepared and noted that there would be a page in the Council Tax booklet explaining the new voting requirements.

The Chair asked about funding and what else the Council could do to make people aware of the new voting requirements. Zoe Wilkins said a national campaign run through the Electoral Commission started on 8 January. The GLA would also be doing their own advertising. The Council had received £19,747 for communications but could re-allocate small amounts if necessary.

Councillor Rowan Ree (Cabinet Member for Finance and Reform) said 14,000 people were denied the vote at the first election run under the new voter ID rules and £20k of funding for publicity was not adequate. He felt the Government needed to do a lot more to promote such a major change.

Councillor Jacolyn Daly noted the Electoral Commission reported at least 14,000 were stopped from voting and it was likely more were put off completely. There were also changes to postal voting from 2 May 2023. She said it was difficult to communicate two separate complex changes. Zoe Wilkins added that there were also changes for overseas voters and agreed that there was a lot of complex information to get across to people. She said they were ensuring staff were well trained on the changes and were trying to communicate with residents via as many channels as possible.

Councillor Helen Rowbottom noted that John Pullinger, Chair of the Electoral Commission, had expressed concerns about the voter ID scheme, calling the rules ‘very, very tight’ and that the need for photo ID disproportionally impacted disabled people, unemployed people, and other under-represented groups- who were more likely to vote for the Labour party. She said nationally 2% of voters had no voter ID which would equate to 3,709 people in Hammersmith & Fulham. Councillor Ree said it was ‘a solution in search of a problem’.

Councillor Natalia Perez asked what lessons had been learned at the local level to help engage people. She also asked about the role of the voluntary sector and community groups. Zoe Wilkins said leaflet had had gone out in the annual canvas letters, but it had not had a significant impact on registrations. The elections team were working with Action on Disability to engage people around accessibility. They were also working with the faith forum to ensure people were aware about privacy considerations in polling stations. And they were working with the Youth Council to help reach out to more young people.

Councillor Vaughan asked about the free voter ID councils could provide, including how it was applied for, how quickly it could be sent out, how much it cost the Council, and if the Council had enough capacity to process requests. Zoe Wilkins said people could apply for Voter Authority Certificates (VACs) online through the Council’s own website or a national website. So far, they had only received 140 applications. They were quick to process. Applicants could choose to collect the certificate or have it posted out to them. The Council could reissue them locally if necessary.

Councillor Nicole Trehy asked how people who didn’t have access to a computer or smart phone could get a VAC. Zoe Wilkins said they could call the helpline or make an appointment to visit the team in Cobbs Hall.

Councillor Daly noted that an all-party parliamentary group report stated people checking photo ID were more likely to accept someone of the same ethnicity, and more likely to reject those of different ethnicities. She asked what data the Council would be capturing on this and what learning could come from it. Zoe Wilkins said polling stations had to complete a standard form to record anyone who was turned away, though it had to be sealed. She said officers would investigate ways to capture data, but it raised data protection issues. She added that training was very important to ensure people were treated fairly and noted that staff were quite representative of the borough.

The Chair asked if officers had a sense of the additional resources required for a General Election, given the higher expected turnout. Zoe Wilkins said the Council had funding for an additional clerk in every station and would be looking again at the numbers after the May elections. They would also consider feedback from voters and political parties and adjust accordingly.

The Chair brought the discussion to a close and noted the following actions:

• Zoe Wilkins to provide guidance for members about how to support people to vote.
• Zoe Wilkins to provide an update on how the Council is reaching out to community groups.
• The Chair noted the ‘register to vote’ cards with QR codes that led to the Government’s voter registration website. She suggested something similar could be produced for Voter Authority Certificates.

ACTIONS: Zoe Wilkins

The Chair thanked members and officers for their time and contributions. She said she welcomed a further report on findings after the May elections.

RESOLVED

1. That the Board noted and commented on the report.