Readers respond to the government’s move to make photo ID mandatory at polling stations, announced in the Queen’s speech this week
I am the chair of the Royal National Institute of Blind People, although I write in a personal capacity. I am extremely concerned that government plans for voter ID will create additional barriers to blind and partially sighted people, in the exercise of our democratic right to vote (More than 2m voters may lack photo ID required under new UK bill, 11 May).
The government has reported that pilots, where voters were asked to produce either a passport or driving licence at polling stations, were successful. However, this is not the whole story: blind people were informed of the pilot in letters they could not read, so turned up with no photo ID and were then denied the vote. This is unacceptable.
