Voter ID rules stop over 50 people from voting at 2024 General Election in Middlesbrough

A voter carries his passport along with his poll card
-Credit: (Image: PA)


Over 150 people were initially turned away from polling stations on July 4, the day of this year’s General Election, due to a lack of adequate ID.

This number fell to 55 when accounting for those who returned to polling stations with the correct ID. In Middlesbrough and Thornaby East, Labour ’s incumbent Andy McDonald held the seat. There were 128 electors who were initially not issued with a ballot paper, 85 of whom returned to the polling station with appropriate ID. This meant that a total of 43 individuals were unable to vote on polling day.

In Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland, where Labour’s Luke Myer ousted incumbent Conservative Sir Simon Clarke, there were 35 instances in which people were initially turned away from the polling station.

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Twenty-three of those who were not given a ballot paper later returned with an acceptable form of ID, meaning that 12 people were refused a ballot paper by the close of the polls.

The Elections Act 2022 introduced the need for voters to show an accepted form of photo ID to vote in person for certain elections in Great Britain. The first time that it was necessary to present ID at polling stations was during the 2023 local elections.

The regulations were also enforced at the elections in May 2024. Locally, this included the Tees Valley Mayoral election and the Cleveland Police and Crime Commissioner election. July 4 was the first time that the regulations had been in place at a general election.

The figures for Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland also show that the “total number of voters issued with a ballot paper at polling stations” was only 13,982, while the total number of votes cast was more than 38,000. This means that the majority of voters in the constituency were postal voters, Middlesbrough Council confirmed.

Across the whole of the country, around 16,000 people were not able to vote in the general election because they were unable to show ID.

According to the Electoral Commission, approximately “210,000 people applied for a Voter Authority Certificate between January 2023, when the application service launched, and 26 June 2024, which was the application deadline for the UK general election. Around 26,000 certificates were used as a form of ID on 4 July”.

A spokesperson for Middlesbrough Council explained that they do not hold the figures of the number of people in the local constituencies who applied for a Voter ID certificate as the applications are made through a government website and not locally.

While it was a Conservative Government who introduced the policy of requiring ID at polling stations, there is no sign that the new Labour Government will change or repeal the policy, beyond reviewing it. During the general election campaign, Sir Keir Starmer cited concerns about the impact of voter ID rules, but did not make any commitments.

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