Who Lacks Voter Identification? The Electoral Implications of The UK Elections Bill 2021

20 Pages Posted: 23 Nov 2021 Last revised: 14 Dec 2023

See all articles by Edward A. Fieldhouse

Edward A. Fieldhouse

The University of Manchester

Ralph Scott

The University of Manchester; Cardiff University

Christopher Prosser

University of London - Royal Holloway

Jack Bailey

The University of Manchester

Jonathan Mellon

West Point - Department of Systems Engineering

Date Written: December 12, 2023

Abstract

The Elections Bill 2022 requires voters to present photo identification at general elections in Great Britain and local elections in England. In this article we use data from the British Election Study Internet Panel to identify who does and who does not own the necessary photo documents and how this affected turnout in the 2023 local elections. This gives us the first reliable indication of the party political impact of the proposed change. We find that some groups are more affected than others, with less educated, poorer, and older voters being more likely to be in voter-identification poverty. The political implications of this are unsurprising: as is usually the case with strict voter identification requirements, we find that opposition party supporters are more likely to lack any valid form of photo identification than Conservative voters.

Keywords: photo identification, turnout, voting laws, electoral administration, electoral rules

Suggested Citation

Fieldhouse, Edward A. and Scott, Ralph and Prosser, Christopher and Bailey, Jack and Mellon, Jonathan, Who Lacks Voter Identification? The Electoral Implications of The UK Elections Bill 2021 (December 12, 2023). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3966155 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3966155

Edward A. Fieldhouse (Contact Author)

The University of Manchester ( email )

Oxford Road
Manchester, N/A M13 9PL
United Kingdom

Ralph Scott

The University of Manchester

Cardiff University ( email )

The Glamorgan Building
King Edward VII Avenue
Cardiff, Wales CF10 3WT
United Kingdom

Christopher Prosser

University of London - Royal Holloway ( email )

Egham Hill
Egham, TW20 0EX

Jack Bailey

The University of Manchester ( email )

Oxford Road
Manchester, N/A M13 9PL
United Kingdom

HOME PAGE: http://www.jack-bailey.co.uk

Jonathan Mellon

West Point - Department of Systems Engineering ( email )

600 Thayer Rd
West Point, NY 10996
United States

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