- Monday, May 20, 2024
Boris Johnson, who resigned in 2022 amid scandals, was initially turned away from a polling station in Oxfordshire, where he attempted to vote in local elections.
By: Vivek Mishra
Boris Johnson, the former prime minister who implemented a rule requiring voters to show photo ID, was denied entry to a polling station on Thursday because he forgot to bring his own ID.
Johnson, who resigned in 2022 amid scandals, was initially turned away from a polling station in Oxfordshire, southern England, where he attempted to vote in local elections.
A spokesperson confirmed Johnson’s voting for the Conservative Party but did not dispute that he failed to present photo ID.
During his tenure, Johnson’s government introduced the ID requirement in 2022 to address potential voter fraud, despite criticism for its potential to disenfranchise some voters.
Previously, voters only needed to provide their name and address to vote.
“I don’t think it’s unreasonable to ask first-time voters to produce some evidence of identity,” Johnson had commented on the new rules in 2021.
In the first election where the new rules were applied last year, about 14,000 people in England were unable to vote in local elections due to lacking ID.
This incident adds to the colourful history of Johnson’s political career, which includes getting stuck on a zip wire as London mayor and hiding in a refrigerator during his time as prime minister to avoid a camera crew.
A YouGov poll revealed that 14% of Britons were unaware of the voter ID requirement leading up to Thursday’s elections.
(Reuters)
