Veterans might be allowed to make use of ID to vote after ex-forces personnel turned away

Veterans will be able to use their ID card to vote at the local elections in May.

The Government will tweak the law after former service personnel were turned away from polling stations earlier this year. Voters are required to show ID at a polling station after the Tories controversially imposed new rules in 2022.

But the HM Armed Forces Veteran Card, which was introduced in January, was not among those accepted. The-then Veterans Minister Johnny Mercer was forced to issue an apology to those who were turned away.

The Government has now laid a statutory instrument in Parliament to put the HM Armed Forces Veteran Card on the list of approved forms of voter ID, alongside the MOD 90 ID card which is already accepted.

Elections Minister Alex Norris said: “No veteran should be turned away from the polling station while trying to use their Veteran Card as voter ID. They are an incredible community who have dedicated their lives to this country, and it is wrong that the exclusion of this Card has been a barrier to their ability to vote.

“That’s why we’re supporting our incredible veterans by expanding the list of voter identifications to include it so they can participate in democracy without the fear of being turned away on election day.”

Mark Atkinson, Director General of the Royal British Legion, said: “This is good news. Veterans have found it frustrating that they were unable to use their Armed Forces Veteran Card as voter identification. It is vital that the voice of the Armed Forces community is heard at every election, now that voter ID is required to vote in elections in the UK, this change will make it easier for those who have served to cast their vote.”

It comes as part of a wider review of Tory Voter ID rules, which Boris Johnson’s Government said were necessary to combat voter fraud. Mr Johnson was himself turned away from his local polling station in May after trying to vote with an envelope with his name and address on it. He later returned with the correct ID.

The Electoral Commission found around 16,000 people missed out on having their say at the General Election due to lack of ID. The watchdog said one in 400 voters were initially turned away on July 4, although two thirds later returned with valid ID.

But analysis found 0.08% who tried to vote were unable to do so. People from poorer backgrounds were more likely to say this was the reason, it said.