@ChrisMayLA6

However, part of the United Kingdom already has #voterID laws, which I don't hear much mention about or outcry over.

#NI in 2002 had The Electoral Fraud (Northern Ireland) Act
introduced which amended the Representation of the People Act 1983 which required all #NI voters to have photographic identification at polling stations.

So if it acceptable for us in #NI to have to produce ID, why isn't acceptable to the rest of the UK?

@Loukas @ChrisMayLA6

That is the problem right there. When it happens in England, there is uproar but when it's the other three nations - no-one is interested.

Maybe if those shouting about this, paid some attention how it is working in NI, then there could be a more reasoned debate.

So, if we are UK - then we all have the same voting laws or we don't. So bring the rest of the UK into line with #NI or remove the requirement from #NI

@jacqui76 @Loukas @ChrisMayLA6

The myth-or-legend was that quite a lot of dead people used to vote in NI. This didn't happen in GB. It's not unreasonable to match the response to the observed threat.

@TimWardCam @Loukas @ChrisMayLA6

There definitely was evidence of voter fraud in 1980's in NI. Many believed that Sinn Fein vote was affected more by that. However in 1983 for example 149 people arrested at polling stations, 104 were convicted.

Firstly think of the situation in NI at the time - why do think they may have wanted to discredit the British voting system - political statement? Also, was 104 convictions really that big of an opposed threat that required voter ID laws?

@TimWardCam @Loukas @ChrisMayLA6

However when ID laws were introduced it reduced the number of incidents. Plus it helped improve the confidence of the voting public in the electoral system. So it worked.
#NI proved the system works.

So why wouldn't you want to increase the confidence of the GB voting public in elections.

Plus the real problem in GB is FPTP - which #NI doesn't use for Assembly or Local Elections either.

@jacqui76 @Loukas @ChrisMayLA6 There's no lack of confidence with in-person voting in GB. The fraud (both risk and actual) is in postal voting, which unlike in-person voting is wide open to all sorts of attacks (which I won't detail in case anyone reading this hasn't yet thought of them all).

If the Tories had actually wanted to improve the integrity of elections they'd have done something like removing postal votes on demand, not attacking in-person voting where there isn't a problem.

But hey ... guess what ... the Tories get lots of postal votes, so they wouldn't do anything to make postal voting less convenient.

@TimWardCam @Loukas @ChrisMayLA6

When applying of a postal vote in GB, do you not need a witness declaration to confirm why you are applying for one?

@jacqui76 @Loukas @ChrisMayLA6 Nope. You can just say "I feel like having a postal vote for all elections from now on please". No justification, no witness, no nothing - completely on demand. (Unless you're wanting the ballot sent to somewhere other than your registered address, then you have to give a reason.)

Some of the ways in which this can be abused are obvious; some may be less so but, like I said, I'm not going to advertise them!

@TimWardCam @Loukas @ChrisMayLA6

Sounds like the voting system in #GB needs a few safeguards introduced.

In #NI your application form needs to be attested. Then it is returned to the Electoral Office who decided if your reason is valid and your application will be accepted.

Definitely two different worlds...#NI & #GB