The parts of Essex where 63,000 people won't be allowed to vote at the General Election

Concerning data shows that thousands of registered voters across Essex have no qualifying ID, denying them the right to vote in the upcoming General Election. Exclusive data estimates that more than 63,000 people in our county are registered but lack appropriate ID to vote - some 5% of all those registered.

The proportion is far higher in some areas, however. In the ward of Lee Chapel North in Basildon, for example, an estimated 21% of registered voters don’t have ID, affecting more than 2,000 people.

The rate is similarly high in West Clacton and Jaywick Sands, in Tendring, at just under 19 per cent, and Greenstead in Colchester (18 per cent). The figures were obtained following research by Survation and Royal Holloway, University of London.

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Chris Hanretty, Professor of Politics at Royal Holloway, University of London, said: "The vast majority of registered voters have photo ID, but a small proportion don't, and that small proportion gets bigger in some areas. If just a few of these voters without ID turn up to vote, we can expect lots of stories about people being disenfranchised."

New laws requiring voter ID were introduced last year, with the local elections in England on 4 May 2023 being the first in Britain to require voters to show identification before being issued with a ballot paper. Voters can use passports, driving licences, Proof of Age Standards Scheme (PASS) cards, Blue badges, and some concessionary travel cards.

People without an existing acceptable form of voter ID can apply online or by post for a free Voter Authority Certificate (VAC). The deadline to apply for a VAC in order to vote in the Parliamentary General Election on is 5pm on Wednesday, June 26.

If you go to the polling station without the correct ID, you’ll be turned away - and in fact Boris Johnson was turned away from his local polling station this May after forgetting to bring his ID. Meanwhile, thousands of people who tried to vote at a polling station in May 2023 were not able to because of the voter ID requirement, and many non-voters said they did not vote because of the ID requirement.

In its statutory report, produced in September 2023, the Electoral Commission found that some people found it harder than others to show accepted voter ID, including disabled people, younger voters, people from ethnic minority communities, and the unemployed. The Commission and others have recommended that the list of allowable IDs be reviewed and that consideration be given to making the voter ID rules more accessible to the most affected groups.

However, the Government rejected calls for additional types of ID to be added to the list, saying the implementation of voter ID was “conducted efficiently with very few voters initially turned away”.