Voter ID at the May 2024 Elections
On 8 January, we launched our Voter ID campaign in England and Wales for:
- the May 2024 local elections in England
- the Police and Crime Commissioner elections in England and Wales.
Through the campaign, we want to make sure voters know about the new requirement to bring photo ID to the polls. We also want to raise awareness of the option to apply for free voter ID.
This is the second year we have run the campaign in England. In 2023 the campaign did very well. We saw awareness of the requirement rising from 22% to 91% amongst the electorate in England (excluding London).
This year is the first time we are running the campaign in Wales.
Our approach for May 2024
For May 2024, we are building on last year’s successes. We are using our giant “sticky note” adverts to provide unmissable reminders to voters to bring their ID on polling day, but this time with a greater array of eye-catching colours.
We have also put more emphasis on the option of applying for free voter ID in our advertising.
Paid advertising
Our paid advertising will include traditional advertising platforms like TV, Radio, and out of home billboards. We will also be using digital channels such as social media and paid search.
We are continuing to use some exciting new channels, including advertising in cinema and in-game.
Press and partnership work
Wide-reaching press and partnership work will also complement our paid advertising.
We are working with journalists and press outlets across print, broadcast and online to increase awareness. This will be across national news outlets, regional press and specialist media. We will also work with them to make sure factually correct information is being shared.
Our partnership team is working with a large range of organisations and local authorities. They will focus on supporting groups with low ID ownership and additional barriers to voting. This includes creating resources that partners can use to spread the word.
Evaluation
As always, we monitor the performance of the campaign and will evaluate it thoroughly after the polls close on 2 May. Any lessons learned will be extremely important as we move towards forthcoming elections. They will also feed into our core mission of making sure everyone can take part in our democracy.