If you want to vote in person on 4th July, you will need to take photo ID along with you.
If you don’t have a passport or driving license this may sound like a giant pain in the arse and not worth bothering about. But it’s actually quite simple to get a Voter Authority Certificate (aka ID for voting).
I’ve done it and you can do it too.
Before I tell you how to do it, did you know that there are lots of other forms of photo ID you can use other than passports or driving licences. Here’s a list of what you can use.
If you don’t have any of those then you will need voter ID. Here’s how to apply.
First thing you need to do is click this link:
Apply for photo ID to vote (called a ‘Voter Authority Certificate’) – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
You will see this important piece of information:
If it’s before 5pm on 26th June, keep on scrolling down until you see this:
The questions that follow are simple and only take a couple of minutes if you have a clear photo of your face/a clear selfie and your National Insurance number (it takes a bit longer without a National Insurance number).
Once you’ve finished it should only be a week at most before your certificate arrives in the post.
It arrives on a thin piece of green paper and looks like this (apologies for the terrible photo of my face):
It really is that simple.
When the polling day arrives, you take that flimsy piece of paper with you to the place you’ve been told to go to cast your vote (it will tell you on the card you’ll get through the post with the election details on it).
At the desk you will be asked for your name and your photo ID. They will cast a glance at it and you’ll be given your voting slip. It is that easy.
Don’t let photo ID be the reason you don’t go and cast your vote. Go and be counted.
