Your rights | voter ID

With the introduction of photo Voter ID, it’s important to know your rights. The Elections Act (2022) sets rules around how photo Voter ID checks  can happen, and what polling station staff  can and can’t do. 

Your right to privacy 

When providing your photo Voter ID at a polling station, only the poll clerk can check your photo Voter ID  or Voter Authority Certificate. Only with your express permission can they show it to other people. The only exception is where the validity of your photo ID is challenged, in which case a clerk must show it to the person in charge (called the presiding officer). 

If you ask to show your photo ID privately, so no one else but you and the officer / clerk can see it, then they must agree to your request. This means taking you to a private area of the polling station. Each polling station is equipped with a designated private space specifically for this purpose.  

Your right to a free photo Voter ID 

As well as creating the free Voter Authority Certificate, the Elections Act (2022) also specifies that it must be provided to potential voters free of charge. 

Your right to try again 

If your first attempt to vote at a polling station is refused because your photo Voter ID hasn’t been accepted, you have the right to try again with a different accepted form of photo ID. This means you can’t be turned away automatically just because your first attempt was unsuccessful. 

If the officer at the polling station refuses to give you a ballot paper, they must record your electoral number and the reason for the refusal.