Use of voter ID at elections
Voter identification (ID) was used for the first time at council elections held on 4 May 2023.
By law, anyone eligible to vote (an 'elector') has to show an approved type of photo ID or a 'Voter Authority Certificate' if they wished to vote at a polling station.
For full information on voter ID, go to GOV.UK: how to vote – photo ID you'll need.
Council elections, 4 May 2023
The tables below give a summary of information we can publish about voter ID at council elections on 4 May 2023.
| Elector information | Total |
|---|---|
| Electors eligible to vote in person at polling stations | 88,864 |
| Electors who attended a polling station | 18,054 |
| Electors who requested a ballot paper at a polling station but were initially refused because they did not have voter ID | 139 |
| Electors who were initially refused a ballot paper at a polling station because they did not have voter ID, but who later returned with voter ID and were issued with a ballot paper | 88 |
| Electors who requested a ballot paper at a polling station but were refused because they did not have voter ID, and who had not been issued with a ballot paper by the time the poll closed | 51 |
| Electors issued with a ballot paper at polling stations | 18,003 |
This information is shown in percentages below.
| Elector information | Percentage |
|---|---|
| Electors who attended the polling station, as a proportion of the total eligible to vote (18,054 out of 88,864) | 20.3% |
| Electors who attended the polling station and were issued with a ballot paper (18,003 out of 18,054) | 99.7% |
| Electors who requested a ballot paper at a polling station but were initially refused because they did not have voter ID (139 out of 18,054) | 0.8% |
| Electors who requested a ballot paper at a polling station but were refused because they did not have voter ID, and who had not been issued with a ballot paper by the time the poll closed (51 out of 18,054) | 0.3% |
| Of the electors who were initially refused a ballot paper at a polling station because they did not have voter ID, those who later returned with voter ID and were issued with a ballot paper (88 out of 139) | 63.3% |