Call for voter ID to tackle electoral fraud (From Enfield Independent)

Call for voter ID to tackle Enfield electoral fraud by Nick de Bois

12:37pm Thursday 24th May 2012 in News By David Hardiman, Reporter

An MP has called for voters to require ID when registering and at polling stations to tackle concerns over fraud.

Enfield North MP Nick de Bois said that a survey of 100 people not eligible to vote in his constituency, he found that 21 were on the electoral roll because of failings in the registration system.

He called for the Electoral Registration and Administration Bill, which is currently being debated in Parliament, to include measures for voters to have to prove their right to be on the register.

He said: “It is harder to obtain a library card than to exercise one’s franchise, which is a state of affairs that has left us open to the possibility of fraudulent use of that franchise by people who are on the electoral register when they are not entitled to be.

“It is clear that some people deliberately seek to get on to the electoral register when they have no right to do so, perhaps to improve their chances of obtaining credit.

“The fact is, however, that the door is open for them to do so, and we must slam it shut.”

Under the new system proposed by the Government, each voter would have to register themselves, rather than by household. This data would then be checked against data like national insurance numbers to make sure it is correct.

But the plans will not come into effect until after the next election, scheduled for 2015.