Great Britain Joins Rest of Europe in Requiring Voter ID

People make their way along a flooded path as they arrive to vote at the polling station in East Hanningfield, Essex, England, on June 23, 2016. Nick Ansell/file/PA via AP

The Elections Bill passed on Wednesday night, making it mandatory for voters to show photographic ID across polling booths in Great Britain.

Unlike elections in Europe, where 47 countries need a mandatory national ID card to vote, the new law has brought an end to an era for Great Britain, where identification or even polling cards have never needed to be shown. But critics of digital identification claim the move is unjustified as voter fraud is almost non-existent.

Mandatory

Up to now, when registered to vote, a poll card is sent to one’s address before an election. The poll card tells them where to vote in a general or local election. Then voters put a cross (X) next to their preferred candidate on a ballot paper at the polling station.