Following a call by the Lib Dems, residents will no longer be requested to submit photographic identification when applying for a postal vote from Woking Borough Council.

Lib Dem Councillor for Horsell, Adam Kirby, submitted a motion to secure simpler postal voting back in July – the motion was eventually approved by all Councillors in October.

This means any eligible adult residents across Woking Borough can now apply for a postal vote in the usual way.  There had been a previous ‘suggestion’ to supply photo ID in an accompanying and time consuming paper submission.

The new simplification brings Woking Council back into line with neighbouring local authorities and with the official position of the Electoral Commission for postal vote applications across the country.

Voting by post here in Woking fell as a proportion of the electorate, between 2019 and 2021, despite a pandemic and stringent rules to conduct activities from home still in place at the time of the election.  Voting should never feel like a risk.

Yet Woking’s local rules had been set as a bizarre interpretation of central policy, seemingly against the spirit of the independent Electoral Commission.  Thankfully, thanks to my colleague Adam, getting a postal vote in Woking is just as easy now as the law says it should be.