London (Parliament News) – Former Prime Minister Boris Johnson expressed gratitude to three villagers who enforced the ID voting requirement, barring him from voting without proper identification during the South Oxfordshire police commissioner election. He attempted to use a copy of Prospect magazine as ID but was turned away.-
Former Prime Minister Boris Johnson has thanked three villagers who turned him out from a polling station on Thursday for attempting to vote without a valid ID. The former prime minister was informed by polling station staff that he would not be permitted to vote in the police and crime commissioner election for South Oxfordshire without verifying his identity.
What ID Did Boris Johnson Attempt to Use?
Reporting in his column in the Daily Mail, the former prime minister stated he attempted to use a copy of Prospect magazine as a document of identification but was turned away by local electorate officials.
He noted: “I want to pay a particular tribute to the three villagers who on Thursday rightly turned me away when I appeared in the polling station with nothing to prove my identity except the sleeve of my copy of Prospect magazine, on which my name and address had been printed. “I showed it to them and they looked very dubious … within minutes I was back with my driving licence and voted Tory.”
What Election Requirement Did Johnson Encounter?
The condition to bring a photo ID was a stipulation of the Elections Act Johnson raised in 2022 while in Downing Street. The election on Thursday was the first time many voters in England and Wales had to offer ID to vote under the provisions rolled out at last year’s local elections.
Permitted forms of ID include a passport, driving licence, Proof of Age Standards Scheme (Pass) cards, Blue Badges, and some concessionary travel cards.
Downing Street has stated it will “look into” changing the rules to permit veterans’ ID cards onto the list of valid identification.
What Criticisms Did Ministers Face Regarding ID Rules?
It came after the veteran’s minister, Johnny Mercer, apologized to ex-military personnel who were deterred from using their veteran ID to vote in the local elections in England.
Ministers have met criticism over the limited number of acceptable forms of ID, particularly the conclusion to allow documents such as the older person’s bus pass but almost none allocated to younger ones, such as other travel passes and student documents.