The act of needing to apply for it will disenfranchise people. You won’t be able to just pop in and do it on the way back from one of your jobs if you didn’t have time to apply in the first place. If you have caring responsibilities and/or multiple jobs it’s something that is easily forgotten about due to a lack of time.
Not hugely in favour of ID cards but if we all had them automatically it wouldn’t be as much of an issue.
The process of applying for a Voter Authority Certificate online is quite straightforward . As long as you are registered to vote, you only need a recent photograph and your National Insurance number. You can apply online here, I appreciate that not everyone can set some time aside for this, but if you do try please share any obstacles or difficulties you encounter.
Thanks for this! Personally speaking I was fine as I had a passport, but I work in a sector where a lot of people are struggling and that loss of opportunity to just pop in without thinking can make a difference.
This is great advice though and would encourage anyone who hasn’t sorted ID out to do so sooner rather than later.
I don’t drive, and don’t have a (valid*) passport, they’ve claimed you can apply for an ID (not free), but as a trans woman it’s unlikely I can possibly have the documentation required - I believe a birth certificate is required for one; mine does not match my legal name obviously, and all other government documentation (NHS details, National Insurance card, tax documents) are in my legal name.
Besides which, the government knows who I am, and where I live, since I have to be registered on the electoral roll to even be eligable for postal voting in the first place, so what, other than finding a reason to deny me my rights, is the purpose of a voter ID for a postal vote?
* I do, somewhere, have an expired passport that expired in 2016, but I was unable to find it in time to renew it, and my permission slip for getting a passport in my legal name expired years ago, it would also be expensive, given that I have no need to travel abroad, so £90+ on sorting out a passport just for voting would be outrageous.
I’d have the same problem, getting a driver’s license in my legal name is dependant on the permission slip from the gender clinic, which expired years ago. In theory I could get a new slip, but since the gender clinic discharged me because I don’t count as a real person due to having a disability, then they’re loathed to deal with me, and I usually just get shunted about to nowhere by my GP.
Of course, in theory my GP is supposed to be able to provide that permission slip, it doesn’t have to come from a gender clinic Dr, but my GP throws up their hands at any suggestion of them actually thinking for themselves.
You can change your name by deed poll before your birth certificate is changed, it’s relatively straight forward, free and it would allow you to get a driving license and passport in your name. Get at least 2 copies or ideally 3 copies and sign them all. This website is great: https://freedeedpoll.org.uk/
I don’t vote in the UK - why would it disenfranchise you? Can’t you apply for and get a free form of ID?
The act of needing to apply for it will disenfranchise people. You won’t be able to just pop in and do it on the way back from one of your jobs if you didn’t have time to apply in the first place. If you have caring responsibilities and/or multiple jobs it’s something that is easily forgotten about due to a lack of time.
Not hugely in favour of ID cards but if we all had them automatically it wouldn’t be as much of an issue.
The process of applying for a Voter Authority Certificate online is quite straightforward . As long as you are registered to vote, you only need a recent photograph and your National Insurance number. You can apply online here, I appreciate that not everyone can set some time aside for this, but if you do try please share any obstacles or difficulties you encounter.
Thanks for this! Personally speaking I was fine as I had a passport, but I work in a sector where a lot of people are struggling and that loss of opportunity to just pop in without thinking can make a difference.
This is great advice though and would encourage anyone who hasn’t sorted ID out to do so sooner rather than later.
I don’t drive, and don’t have a (valid*) passport, they’ve claimed you can apply for an ID (not free), but as a trans woman it’s unlikely I can possibly have the documentation required - I believe a birth certificate is required for one; mine does not match my legal name obviously, and all other government documentation (NHS details, National Insurance card, tax documents) are in my legal name.
Besides which, the government knows who I am, and where I live, since I have to be registered on the electoral roll to even be eligable for postal voting in the first place, so what, other than finding a reason to deny me my rights, is the purpose of a voter ID for a postal vote?
* I do, somewhere, have an expired passport that expired in 2016, but I was unable to find it in time to renew it, and my permission slip for getting a passport in my legal name expired years ago, it would also be expensive, given that I have no need to travel abroad, so £90+ on sorting out a passport just for voting would be outrageous.
You could maybe get a provisional driving licence? Not ideal, but I don’t think you need to actually drive to get one iirc (has been a while).
I’d have the same problem, getting a driver’s license in my legal name is dependant on the permission slip from the gender clinic, which expired years ago. In theory I could get a new slip, but since the gender clinic discharged me because I don’t count as a real person due to having a disability, then they’re loathed to deal with me, and I usually just get shunted about to nowhere by my GP.
Of course, in theory my GP is supposed to be able to provide that permission slip, it doesn’t have to come from a gender clinic Dr, but my GP throws up their hands at any suggestion of them actually thinking for themselves.
You can change your name by deed poll before your birth certificate is changed, it’s relatively straight forward, free and it would allow you to get a driving license and passport in your name. Get at least 2 copies or ideally 3 copies and sign them all. This website is great: https://freedeedpoll.org.uk/