During the recent local elections in the United Kingdom, former Prime Minister Boris Johnson faced an unexpected hurdle when he was turned away from a polling station for forgetting to bring photo ID, a requirement he himself had introduced while in office.
According to reports, polling station staff in South Oxfordshire had to deny Johnson the opportunity to cast his ballot due to the missing identification. However, he later returned with the necessary ID and was able to successfully vote.
The incident shed light on the new rules implemented by Johnson's Conservative government through the Elections Act 2022, which mandated the use of photo ID for voting. This move was met with widespread criticism, with concerns raised by the UK's Electoral Commission about the potential exclusion of hundreds of thousands of voters, particularly affecting marginalized groups such as the unemployed and ethnic minorities.
A cross-party group of members of Parliament also warned about the flaws in the electoral registration system, highlighting the risk of disenfranchisement for millions of voters in future elections.
Notably, other individuals, including army veteran Adam Diver, were also turned away from polling stations due to issues with their ID, such as Diver's veterans' ID card not being accepted. Veterans minister Johnny Mercer issued an apology to Diver, acknowledging the oversight in the legislation regarding acceptable forms of ID.
The local elections held across the country resulted in significant losses for the ruling party, with over 100 seats on local councils and one parliamentary seat lost in a by-election. These outcomes align with national polls indicating a lead for the opposition Labour Party, suggesting a potential shift in power if a general election were to take place in the near future.
