Key Facts

• In Swindon's 2018 voter ID pilot, 95% of voters used their polling card instead of photo ID.
• Watford's pilot saw 87% of voters using their polling card rather than alternative forms of ID.
• Mid Sussex, North West Leicestershire and Watford pilots in 2019 recorded lower percentages of voters being turned away compared to the photo ID model.
• Edward Leigh entered Parliament with Sir David Amess over 38 years ago.
• Only two MPs remain from their intake following Sir David Amess's death.
• Amendments 56 to 58 propose including bank or debit cards, birth certificates, driving licences, mortgage statements, among others.
• Half of US states allow non-photographic ID for voter identification.
• The Pickles report recommended utility bills as acceptable forms of identification.
• Amendment 62 proposed by Fleur Anderson.
• Reports required no later than 31 July each year and within 90 days after a general election.
• Reports must cover turnout across the electorate, minority groups, disabled people, and young people.
• Edward Leigh has been attending Public Bill Committees for 38 years.
• Clause 2 aims to strengthen postal voting security as per the 2016 Pickles report recommendations.
• The clause requires postal voters in Great Britain to reapply after three years of being registered.
• Clause 2 requires postal voters to reapply every three years.
• The cost estimate for this change ranges from £6 million to £15 million annually.
• Postal voting has increased from 1.8 million in 2001 to 7.3 million at the last general election in 2019.
• The renewal of postal votes will occur every three years.
• Additional costs on local authorities and electoral returning officers will be covered under the new burdens doctrine.
• Evidence suggests that postal vote harvesting has been seen in multiple parts of the country.
• Amendment 69 would require a public consultation for at least 28 days before regulations are made under Clause 4.
• The new rules could create barriers for voters who need assistance in handing in their postal votes, such as care home staff being limited to handling fewer votes.
• Edward Leigh addresses concerns raised about people handing in plastic bags full of postal votes at polling stations or town halls.
• He questions how a polling clerk can distinguish between individual and proxy votes when envelopes are sealed without identification.
• The debate references the need for public consultation before making regulations under clause 4 of the Bill.
• Clause 4 concerns the handling of postal ballot papers at elections.
• It introduces new powers to allow regulations setting requirements for handing in postal votes, including limits on the number of votes an individual can hand in.
• Individuals will be able to hand in up to two additional electors' postal votes, pending finalization during secondary legislation development.
• The current rules allow someone to act as a proxy for up to two electors and an unlimited number of close relatives in any constituency.
• The Bill limits an individual to acting as a proxy for up to four electors, with no more than two being domestic electors.
• Electoral registration officers will send reminders to existing proxy voters about the new rules.