02 May 2023 , 19:24
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A 93-year-old cancer sufferer says the new photo ID rule will exclude her from voting in tomorrow’s local elections.
Oonagh Preece first went to a polling station in 1950 and has voted in every local and general election since. But the furious mum of three said the requirement for photo ID at polling stations now excludes her from democracy.
The retired horse trainer said: “I’ve been voting all of my life, we all did in our family. Even my old granny, she would insist on getting to vote every time she could.
“She was in her 90s when she died and she voted until her last.
“I think it’s very important to vote, you’ve got to have your say.
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“People forget you otherwise. Even if they don’t do anything about it, you’ve got to have your say.”
Oonagh has no intention of voting for the Tories (PA)Oonagh, who is battling uterine cancer, is one of two million people in the UK without a form of photo ID accepted at ballot boxes.
Those without were invited to apply for a free voter authority certificate issued by local councils, though only 85,693 did so in time.
The former judge at dog show Crufts, who moved to the UK from Ireland in 1950, was unable to apply due to ongoing health issues before the April 25 deadline.
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Oonagh, a Labour supporter who now lives in Leominster, Herefordshire, added: “I wouldn’t vote for the Conservatives, especially with these new rules. I can’t get a photo taken of me very easily, I just haven’t got the mobility any more.
“I have a feeling these new rules are because they thought that if they make it harder to vote, a lot of Labour supporters won’t turn up.
“The older generation are being put off by all these new rules.
“There are a lot of people like me who will just give up on voting if they make it harder. The Conservatives have ruined everything.”
Oonagh’s family are hopeful she will be able to use a postal vote, which would not require photo ID, in the next General Election.
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The Electoral Commission said it did not plan to count how many people were turned away from polling stations due to lacking ID.
Labour MP Clive Betts said that decision made it impossible to judge the impact of the new rule.
The Government has said photo ID must be shown at polling stations to prevent potential voter fraud and to bring the rest of the UK in line with Northern Ireland.