Voter ID and other election changes ‘hugely challenging’, say UK officials

Staff warn of short timetable to introduce changes, with final details of voter ID system yet to be released

A series of major changes to UK elections including voter ID and an imminent revamp of Commons constituencies is leaving electoral administrators overwhelmed and risks bringing chaos to polling stations, officials and opposition parties have warned.

Final Commons boundary changes, being announced next week for England and Scotland, will automatically take effect for any subsequent general election, requiring vast efforts to allocate officials and polling stations to the redrawn constituency maps.