Pilot areas by numbers
Page summary
This page outlines key figures from each local authority holding voter identification (ID) pilots at the May 2019 local elections.
Local authorities
Impact on voters
Voters at the ballot box
112,754 |
31% |
203 |
73 |
0.3% |
---|---|---|---|---|
people were registered to vote | of the electorate voted at the ballot box | voters were initially turned away | of those turned away did not return | were not issued with a ballot paper |
The types of ID that voters used
In Braintree, voters could choose to show either a specified form of photo ID or two pieces of specified non-photo ID.
Nine out of every ten people (90.4%) used photographic identification at the polling station, with just 9.6% using ID with no picture.

The three most commonly-used forms of identification were:

The local authority issued...
1 |
---|
ID certificate locally |
Experiences of voters
Of the people we spoke to:
42% |
80% |
100% |
67% |
---|---|---|---|
had seen or heard something about the pilots | knew that they would have to take a form of ID to the polling station | think it would be easy to do at future elections | would be more confident in the security of the election if photographic ID was required in the future |
The top three places people heard about the pilots were:
Letter or postcard |
Poll card |
Local TV news |
---|---|---|
27% | 25% | 21% |
Perceptions of fraud
The number of people who thought that electoral fraud is not a problem rose from 31% in January to 54% in May.

In May, 99% of people thought voting in a polling station is safe from fraud or abuse.
Impact on administration of the poll
Of the electoral administration staff we spoke to:
99% |
74% |
66% |
---|---|---|
felt instructions on acceptable forms of ID were clear |
had no problems checking ID |
were very confident this could be replicated at another election |
Impact on voters
Voters at the ballot box
81,390 |
40% |
231 |
69 |
0.3% |
---|---|---|---|---|
people were registered to vote | of the electorate voted at the ballot bot | voters were initially turned away | of those turned away did not return | of voters who tried to vote could not |
The types of ID that voters used
In Broxtowe, voters could choose to show either a specified form of photo ID or two pieces of specified non-photo ID.
Nine out of every ten people (92.3%) used photographic identification at the polling station, with just 7.7% using ID with no picture.

The three most commonly-used forms of identification were:

The local authority issued...
2 |
1 |
---|---|
ID certificate locally |
replacement polling card |
Experiences of voters
Of the people we spoke to:
62% |
94% |
86% |
45% |
---|---|---|---|
had seen or heard something about the pilots | knew that they would have to take a form of ID to the polling station | think it would be easy to do at future elections | would be more confident in the security of the election if photographic ID was required in the future |
The top three places people heard about the pilots were:
Poll card |
Local TV news |
Letter or postcard |
---|---|---|
38% | 21% | 20% |
Perceptions of fraud
The number of people who thought that electoral fraud is not a problem rose from 27% in January to 54% in May.

In May, 84% of people thought voting in a polling station is safe from fraud or abuse.
Impact on administration of the poll
Of the electoral administration staff we spoke to:
88% |
63% |
64% |
---|---|---|
felt instructions on acceptable forms of ID were clear |
had no problems checking ID |
were very confident this could be replicated at another election |
Impact on voters
Voters at the ballot box
27,687 |
37% |
129 |
49 |
0.7% |
---|---|---|---|---|
people were registered to vote | of the electorate voted at the ballot box | voters were initially turned away | of those turned away did not return | were not issued with a ballot paper |
The types of ID that voters used
In Craven, voters could choose to show either a specified form of photo ID or two pieces of specified non-photo ID.
Nine out of every ten people (90.4%) used photographic identification at the polling station, with just 9.6% using ID with no picture.

The three most commonly-used forms of identification were:

The local authority issued...
0 |
---|
ID certificates locally |
Experiences of voters
Of the people we spoke to:
61% |
98% |
80% |
27% |
---|---|---|---|
had seen or heard something about the pilots | knew that they would have to take a form of ID to the polling station | think it would be easy to do at future elections | would be more confident in the security of the election if photographic ID was required in the future |
The top three places people heard about the pilots were:
Poll card |
Letter or postcard |
Local TV news |
---|---|---|
34% | 29% | 22% |
Perceptions of fraud
Craven joined the pilot scheme too late to be included in the January public opinion fieldwork.

In May, 85% of people thought voting in a polling station is safe from fraud or abuse.
Impact on administration of the poll
Of the electoral administration staff we spoke to:
96% |
73% |
71% |
---|---|---|
felt instructions on acceptable forms of ID were clear |
had no problems checking ID |
were very confident this could be replicated at another election |
Impact on voters
Voters at the ballot box
178,641 |
36% |
514 |
256 |
0.6% |
---|---|---|---|---|
people were registered to vote | of the electorate voted at the ballot box | voters were initially turned away | of those turned away did not return | were not issued with a ballot paper |
The types of ID that voters used
In Derby, voters could choose to show either a specified form of photo ID or two pieces of specified non-photo ID.
Eight out of every ten people (83.9%) used photographic identification at the polling station, with 16.1% using ID with no picture.

The three most commonly-used forms of identification were:

The local authority issued...
0 |
300 |
---|---|
ID certificate locally | replacement poll cards |
Experiences of voters
Of the people we spoke to:
45% |
91% |
90% |
40% |
---|---|---|---|
had seen or heard something about the pilots | knew that they would have to take a form of ID to the polling station | think it would be easy to do at future elections | would be more confident in the security of the election if photographic ID was required in the future |
The top three places people heard about the pilots were:
Poll card |
Local TV news |
Local radio |
---|---|---|
33% | 21% | 16% |
Perceptions of fraud
The number of people who thought that electoral fraud is not a problem fell from 32% in January to 30% in May.

In May, 85% of people thought voting in a polling station is safe from fraud or abuse.
Impact on administration of the poll
Of the electoral administration staff we spoke to:
92% |
75% |
77% |
---|---|---|
felt instructions on acceptable forms of ID were clear |
had no problems checking ID |
were very confident this could be replicated at another election |
Impact on voters
Voters at the ballot box
104,929 |
37% |
15 |
8 |
0.03% |
---|---|---|---|---|
people were registered to vote | of the electorate voted at the ballot box | voters were initially turned away | of those turned away did not return | were not issued with a ballot paper |
The types of ID that voters used
In Mid Sussex, voters could show either their poll card or a specified form of photo ID.
Nine out of every ten people (94.4%) used their poll card at the polling station, with 5.6% using photographic identification.

The three most commonly-used forms of identification were:

The local authority issued...
40-50 |
---|
replacement poll cards |
Experiences of voters
Of the people we spoke to:
36% |
79% |
92% |
48% |
---|---|---|---|
had seen or heard something about the pilots | knew that they would have to take a form of ID to the polling station | think it would be easy to do at future elections | would be more confident in the security of the election if photographic ID was required in the future |
The top three places people heard about the pilots were:
Poll card |
Local TV news |
Letter or postcard |
---|---|---|
30% | 14% | 11% |
Perceptions of fraud
The number of people who thought that electoral fraud is not a problem remained at 30% from January to May.

In May, 86% of people thought voting in a polling station is safe from fraud or abuse.
Impact on administration of the poll
Of the electoral administration staff we spoke to:
95% |
72% |
79% |
---|---|---|
felt instructions on acceptable forms of ID were clear |
had no problems checking ID |
were very confident this could be replicated at another election |
Impact on voters
Voters at the ballot box
81,219 |
31% |
145 |
68 |
0.4% |
---|---|---|---|---|
people were registered to vote | of the electorate voted at the ballot box | voters were initially turned away | of those turned away did not return | were not issued with a ballot paper |
The types of ID that voters used
In North Kesteven, voters could choose to show either a specified form of photo ID or two pieces of specified non-photo ID.
Nine out of every ten people (89.6%) used photographic identification at the polling station, with 10.4% using ID with no picture.

The three most commonly-used forms of identification were:

The local authority issued...
0 |
---|
ID certificates locally |
Experiences of voters
Of the people we spoke to:
49% |
93% |
97% |
48% |
---|---|---|---|
had seen or heard something about the pilots | knew that they would have to take a form of ID to the polling station | think it would be easy to do at future elections | would be more confident in the security of the election if photographic ID was required in the future |
The top three places people heard about the pilots were:
Letter or postcard |
Poll card |
Word of mouth |
---|---|---|
59% | 36% | 14% |
Perceptions of fraud
The number of people who thought that electoral fraud is not a problem rose from 35% in January to 59% in May.

In May, 86% of people thought voting in a polling station is safe from fraud or abuse.
Impact on administration of the poll
Of the electoral administration staff we spoke to:
98% |
78% |
68% |
---|---|---|
felt instructions on acceptable forms of ID were clear |
had no problems checking ID |
were very confident this could be replicated at another election |
Impact on voters
Voters at the ballot box
62,660 |
31% |
266 |
61 |
0.4% |
---|---|---|---|---|
people were registered to vote | of the electorate voted at the ballot box | voters were initially turned away | of those turned away did not return | were not issued with a ballot paper |
The types of ID that voters used
In NW Leics, voters could show either their poll card or a specified form of photo ID.
Nine out of every ten people (95.3%) used their poll card at the polling station, with just 4.6% using photographic ID.

The three most commonly-used forms of identification were:

Experiences of voters
Of the people we spoke to:
38% |
63% |
90% |
46% |
---|---|---|---|
had seen or heard something about the pilots | knew that they would have to take a form of ID to the polling station | think it would be easy to do at future elections | would be more confident in the security of the election if photographic ID was required in the future |
The top three places people heard about the pilots were:
Poll card |
Local TV news |
Word of mouth |
---|---|---|
24% | 19% | 15% |
Perceptions of fraud
The number of people who thought that electoral fraud is not a problem fell from 38% in January to 26% in May.

In May, 87% of people thought voting in a polling station is safe from fraud or abuse.
Impact on administration of the poll
Of the electoral administration staff we spoke to:
98% |
76% |
56% |
---|---|---|
felt instructions on acceptable forms of ID were clear |
had no problems checking ID |
were very confident this could be replicated at another election |
Impact on voters
Voters at the ballot box
58,796 |
38% |
284 |
101 |
0.7% |
---|---|---|---|---|
people were registered to vote | of the electorate voted at the ballot box | voters were initially turned away | of those turned away did not return | were not issued with a ballot paper |
The types of ID that voters used
In Pendle, voters had to show a specified form of photo ID.
The three most commonly-used forms of identification were:

The local authority issued...
70 |
---|
local elector identity cards |
Experiences of voters
Of the people we spoke to:
50% |
90% |
73% |
32% |
---|---|---|---|
had seen or heard something about the pilots | knew that they would have to take a form of ID to the polling station | think it would be easy to do at future elections | would be more confident in the security of the election if photographic ID was required in the future |
The top three places people heard about the pilots were:
Local TV news |
Letter or postcard |
Local newspaper and Poll card |
---|---|---|
19% | 17% | 15% |
Perceptions of fraud
The number of people who thought that electoral fraud is not a problem rose from 21% in January to 30% in May.

In May, 74% of people thought voting in a polling station is safe from fraud or abuse.
Impact on administration of the poll
Of the electoral administration staff we spoke to:
91% |
78% |
63% |
---|---|---|
felt instructions on acceptable forms of ID were clear |
had no problems checking ID |
were very confident this could be replicated at another election |
Impact on voters
Voters at the ballot box
70,596 |
33% |
94 |
33 |
0.2% |
---|---|---|---|---|
people were registered to vote | of the electorate voted at the ballot box | voters were initially turned away | of those turned away did not return | were not issued with a ballot paper |
The types of ID that voters used
In Watford, voters could show either their poll card or a specified form of photo ID.
Almost nine out of every ten people (88.2%) used their poll card at the polling station, with 11.8% using photo ID.

The three most commonly-used forms of identification were:

The local authority issued...
69 |
---|
replacement poll cards |
Experiences of voters
Of the people we spoke to:
23% |
66% |
99% |
83% |
---|---|---|---|
had seen or heard something about the pilots | knew that they would have to take a form of ID to the polling station | think it would be easy to do at future elections | would be more confident in the security of the election if photographic ID was required in the future |
The top three places people heard about the pilots were:
Word of mouth |
Local newspaper |
Local TV news |
---|---|---|
13% | 11% | 10% |
Perceptions of fraud
The number of people who thought that electoral fraud is not a problem rose from 21% in January to 36% in May.

In May, 92% of people thought voting in a polling station is safe from fraud or abuse.
Impact on administration of the poll
Of the electoral administration staff we spoke to:
97% |
82% |
82% |
---|---|---|
felt instructions on acceptable forms of ID were clear |
had no problems checking ID |
were very confident this could be replicated at another election |
Impact on voters
Voters at the ballot box
74,156 |
36% |
87 |
22 |
0.1% |
---|---|---|---|---|
people were registered to vote | of the electorate voted at the ballot box | voters were initially turned away | of those turned away did not return | were not issued with a ballot paper |
The types of ID that voters used
In Woking, voters had to show a specified form of photo ID.
The three most commonly-used forms of identification were:

The local authority issued...
24 |
---|
local elector identity cards |
Experiences of voters
Of the people we spoke to:
45% |
99% |
99% |
41% |
---|---|---|---|
had seen or heard something about the pilots | knew that they would have to take a form of ID to the polling station | think it would be easy to do at future elections | would be more confident in the security of the election if photographic ID was required in the future |
The top three places people heard about the pilots were:
Letter or postcard |
Poll card |
Local newspaper |
---|---|---|
36% | 27% | 16% |
Perceptions of fraud
The number of people who thought that electoral fraud is not a problem rose from 33% in January to 62% in May.

In May, 91% of people thought voting in a polling station is safe from fraud or abuse.
Impact on administration of the poll
Of the electoral administration staff we spoke to:
96% |
77% |
83% |
---|---|---|
felt instructions on acceptable forms of ID were clear |
had no problems checking ID |
were very confident this could be replicated at another election |