Chaos could hit English local elections because of ‘too strict’ photo ID for voters

Tory leader of Local Government Association fears staff will be overwhelmed' by rush for voter authority certificates

Staff running local elections in May risk being overwhelmed" by bureaucracy and complaints before and on polling day because of new rules requiring all voters to produce photo ID in order to cast their ballots.

The warning has been issued by the Local Government Association (LGA) amid rising concern that the requirements are too strict, and inadequate preparation has been done to inform voters that the rules have changed. Ministers say the move, piloted in several local authorities at previous local elections in England - though with lighter touch restrictions - is essential to root out extremely rare cases of voter fraud.