Boris Johnson was turned away from his local polling station when trying to cast his vote in Thursday’s elections after forgetting to bring the required photo identity.
The former prime minister was initially told by polling station staff he would not be allowed to vote in the police and crime commissioner election in South Oxfordshire without proving his identity.
The misstep was embarrassing for Johnson because the requirement to bring photo ID is a stipulation of the Elections Act he introduced in 2022 while in Downing Street.
The Electoral Commission has warned that hundreds of thousands of people could be excluded from voting because of the law, which it said could have a disproportionate effect on some groups.
A source close to Johnson confirmed he had forgotten the photo ID, but did later vote. “Mr Johnson voted Conservative,” a spokesperson added. Earlier on Thursday he had posted on X: “The polls are now open. Vote Conservative!”
It came after the veterans minister apologised to former military personnel who were prevented from using their veterans ID to vote in the local elections in England.
Downing Street said it would “look into” changing the controversial rules, which require photo ID in order to vote, to allow veterans’ ID cards on to the list of valid identification.
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Author: Marty Kaufmann
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