A new election bill introduced in May 2023 makes photo identification a legal prerequisite to vote.
An official statement on the government website said: “Voter fraud is a crime that we cannot allow room for.
“So the government is stamping out any potential for it to take place in elections.”
According to Official National Statistics, there were nearly 50 million registered votes for local elections in 2022, which is nearly 350,000 votes less than the year prior.
Some candidates are concerned that the new bill may result in the number of votes decreasing even further, in a year where every vote counts.
Jim Murray, Liberal Democrats candidate, says: “It’s excluding young people, who may not already have their driving licenses or something already in place.
“And we’re also excluding the older generation, who may have given up their passports or don't have photo ID as well.”
Others disagree and believe that identification is a necessity as many parts of our life require identification.
Paul Letterer, Conservative candidate, said: “It hasn’t excluded a single person if they’re minded.
“If they haven’t got any photo ID at all. Haven’t got a passport, haven’t got a drivers license, then you can get free ID from the local authorities.
“So it shouldn’t have been an issue if people want to vote.”
The future remains uncertain for wards such as Eastbourne, though what is for certain is that not everyone will qualify to have a say in that future.
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