Resident crowd funds legal challenge to voter identification pilots

An Essex resident has set up a crowdfunding page to raise money for a legal challenge to the next round of voter identification pilots.

Neil Coughlan, from Witham, says he does not possess photographic identification and so would be unable to meet the requirements of the pilot for next May’s election at Braintree District Council.

He will argue that the Government does not have legal authority under the Representation of the People Act 2000 to pilot measures that make it harder for people to vote, as the decision to implement the pilots would be made by secondary legislation with inadequate parliamentary scrutiny.

Mr Coughlan said he lacked photographic identification and believed numerous other people would too, so becoming effectively disenfranchised.

Law firm Leigh Day, which is acting for him, said Electoral Commission figures showed that 3.5m voters lacked such identification. 

It said the stated object of the pilots, to deter personation offences, had little purpose since only 28 cases were found out of 44m votes cast in various elections in 2017.

Tessa Gregory, a Leigh Day partner, said: “Any changes which could restrict or deter people from carrying out their democratic right to vote ought to be subject to proper scrutiny by parliament.

“Our client believes that the minister is acting unlawfully in introducing these Voter ID pilot schemes because, by making it harder for people to vote, he is going beyond the powers given to him by parliament under the Representation of the People Act 2000.”

Other councils due to run similar pilots next May are: Broxtowe, Derby, East Staffordshire, Mid Sussex, North Kesteven, North West Leicestershire, Pendle, Ribble Valley, Watford, Woking.

Mark Smulian