Commons Sense

House of Commons · Ministers' Questions

Voter ID: Fraudulent Votes

Thursday 17 June 2021 · 2 questions

Summarised by AI from the official record, so it can contain mistakes.

Read the full transcript on Parliament.uk

At a glance

Answered 0 Partly answered 2 Not answered 0

Key points

  • The commission has made no detailed estimate of the number of fraudulent votes that could be prevented by mandating voter ID.
  • Levels of reported electoral fraud in the UK are consistently low, though they do vary.
  • The commission will consider the potential suppression of turnout in marginalized communities when formulating advice.

Topics (select to filter)

Questions & Answers

Q1 Alistair Carmichael Lib Dem Orkney and Shetland
Democracy & Elections
Context

The issue of potential fraudulent votes in elections is under scrutiny with the government proposing to mandate voter ID. The Electoral Commission's assessment on this matter is being questioned.

Question

What recent estimate has the commission made of the potential number of fraudulent votes that will be prevented with plans to mandate voter ID at future elections?

Answer from Chris Matheson

The commission has made no detailed assessment of the number of fraudulent votes that could be prevented as a result of the Government's proposed policy to introduce voter ID requirements. While levels of reported electoral fraud in the UK are consistently low, they do vary and there is no reliable methodology for forecasting instances of electoral fraud.

Partly answered

Not addressed: The number of fraudulent votes prevented by mandating voter ID was not estimated.

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Q2 Alistair Carmichael Lib Dem Orkney and Shetland
Democracy & Elections
Context

Concerns about the suppression of electoral participation, particularly among poorer communities and minority ethnic groups, are raised regarding proposed voter ID mandates.

Question

Previous work by the commission shows that voter impersonation is rare. However, experience from other countries suggests that schemes involving production of identification at polling stations can suppress turnout especially in marginalized communities. Will this be considered when formulating advice to the Government?

Answer from Chris Matheson

Hon. Members will have seen that, at both state and federal level, there are discussions about electoral law. We may have lessons to learn from fellow democratic countries, and I will pass that recommendation on to the commission for its consideration.

Partly answered

Not addressed: The specific advice formulation process regarding voter ID schemes' impact was not addressed with concrete commitments.

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