SIR – Government plans to reduce electoral crime by compelling people to present proof of identity before casting their ballot are unacceptable.
Voting is a right, and this right cannot be curtailed by introducing a measure which might disfranchise those who are unable to afford the cost of the documents demanded – or indeed those who are unwilling to pay for them.
The right to vote does not and should not depend on an individual being required to do anything other than present themselves to exercise that right. The Government must think again and devise measures that reduce electoral crime without eroding the bedrock of our democracy.
Patrick Jacob
Woodbridge, Suffolk
Woodbridge, Suffolk
