Government plans to introduce voter ID checks are to be challenged in court on the basis they deter people from voting. Neil Coughlan, 64, has launched a legal case – backed by a £10,000 online fundraising campaign – to prevent the scheme being piloted at next year’s local elections. He said he wants “to stand up against a government that is taking our democracy down a very dangerous path.”Mr Coughlan, who does not have any form of photo ID, has received support from Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn and the Electoral Reform Society (ERS), who claim the government’s plans are “undemocratic” and a waste of taxpayer’s money.
Trials of mandatory ID checks in five areas at the local elections in May were criticised after official figures showed that 1,036 people did not have the right ID and around 340 of those did not return to the polling station to vote.
The Independent visited one polling station in Bromley during May’s local election and watched as 76-year-old man who had lived in the area for 40-years was turned away because he did not have a bank card or passport.
Full Article: Government faces legal challenge over voter ID checks at local elections | The Independent.