Voter Authority Certificate
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Voter Authority Certificate
The Voter Authority Certificate (VAC) is a type of voter identification that can be obtained by an eligible United Kingdom voter if they do not possess alternative forms of photo identification (for example, a passport, a full or provisional driving licence, or other eligible forms of ID). This service was established with the Elections Act 2022, which requires voter ID in English local, PCC, and UK-wide elections for the first time. The lack of a national ID card in the UK and non-universal adoption of other forms of ID necessitated this service. The requirement is only for in-person voting at polling stations. As the Act only covers English local, PCC, and UK-wide elections, voters in Scottish Parliament, Scottish local, Senedd/Welsh Parliament, and Welsh local elections are not required to present a voter ID. Ahead of the May 2023 local elections, it was reported that only 10,000 people had applied for the certificate, which was just 0.5% of the 2 million people identif ...
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Electoral Commission (United Kingdom)
In the United Kingdom, the Electoral Commission is the national election commission, created in 2001 as a result of the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000. It is an independent agency that regulates party and election finance and sets standards for how elections should be run. Creation The Electoral Commission was created in 2001 following a recommendation by the fifth report of the Committee on Standards in Public Life. Its mandate was set out in the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000 (PPERA), and ranges from the regulation of political donations and expenditure by political and third parties through to promoting greater participation in the electoral process. The Electoral Administration Act 2006 required local authorities to review all polling stations, and to provide a report on the reviews to the Electoral Commission. The Political Parties and Elections Act 2009 granted the Electoral Commission a variety of new supervisory an ...
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Voter Identification Laws
A voter identification law is a law that requires a person to show some form of identification in order to vote. In some jurisdictions requiring photo IDs, voters who do not have photo ID often must have their identity verified by someone else (such as in Sweden) or sign Challenged Voter Affidavit(such as in New Hampshire) in order to receive a ballot to vote. Examples Argentina In Argentina, voting is compulsory for all citizens between 18 and 70 years old, non-compulsory for those older than 70 and between 16 and 18, and citizens with domiciles in foreign countries. To vote they must present a valid Documento Nacional de Identidad at the corresponding voting center. Other countries in Latin America have similar policies. Australia In Australia, voting is compulsory for all adult citizens. Failure to cast a ballot in a federal election without a valid reason may attract a fine of , and each state imposes its own fines for the same offence in state elections. No form of ...
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United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. The UK includes the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland, and most of List of islands of the United Kingdom, the smaller islands within the British Isles, covering . Northern Ireland shares Republic of Ireland–United Kingdom border, a land border with the Republic of Ireland; otherwise, the UK is surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, the North Sea, the English Channel, the Celtic Sea and the Irish Sea. It maintains sovereignty over the British Overseas Territories, which are located across various oceans and seas globally. The UK had an estimated population of over 68.2 million people in 2023. The capital and largest city of both England and the UK is London. The cities o ...
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Driving Licence In The United Kingdom
In the United Kingdom, a Driver's license, driving licence is the official document which authorises its holder to operate motor vehicles on highways and other public roads. It is administered in England, Scotland and Wales by the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) and in Northern Ireland by the Driver & Vehicle Agency (DVA). A driving licence is required in England, Scotland, and Wales for any person (except the sovereign) driving a vehicle on any highway or other "road", as defined in s.192 Road Traffic Act 1988, irrespective of the ownership of the land over which the road passes. Similar requirements apply in Northern Ireland under the Road Traffic (Northern Ireland) Order 1981. Prior to the Brexit, UK leaving the European Union on 31 January 2020 and during the Brexit withdrawal agreement, transition period which ended on 31 December 2020, a UK driving licence was a European driving licence, adhering to Directive 2006/126/EC and valid throughout the European Econom ...
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Elections Act 2022
The Elections Act 2022 (c. 37) is an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that was introduced to the House of Commons in July 2021, and received royal assent on 28 April 2022. The act made photo identification compulsory for in-person voting in Great Britain for the first time. Before the act was passed, Northern Ireland had been the only part of the UK to require voter identification. The act also gave the government new powers over the independent elections regulator; the Electoral Commission said it was "concerned" about its independence from political influence in the future. According to academic research presented to the House of Commons in 2021, these changes were expected to result in 1.1 million fewer voters at the subsequent general election due to the photo ID requirement. Key elements of the act were opposed by parliamentary committees, the House of Lords, the Electoral Commission, devolved governments, and academics. Amendments proposed by the House of Lo ...
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Police And Crime Commissioner
A police and crime commissioner (PCC; ) is an elected official in England and Wales responsible for generally overseeing police services. A police, fire and crime commissioner (PFCC) is an elected official in England responsible for generally overseeing both police and fire services. Commissioners replaced now-abolished police authorities. The first were elected on 15 November 2012. Background In the 2010 general election campaign, the manifestos of the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats outlined plans, respectively, to replace or reform the existing police authorities. Following the election, the Conservative–Liberal Democrat coalition agreement of 2010 set out that: Later in 2010, the government published 'Policing in the 21st Century', a consultation on its vision for policing, including the introduction of police and crime commissioners. There was a proposal to call them "sheriffs" but this was rejected after focus groups felt it sounded too American. The consult ...
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Identity Document
An identity document (abbreviated as ID) is a documentation, document proving a person's Identity (social science), identity. If the identity document is a plastic card it is called an ''identity card'' (abbreviated as ''IC'' or ''ID card''). When the identity document incorporates a photographic portrait, it is called a ''Photo identification, photo ID''. In some countries, identity documents may be List of national identity card policies by country#Countries with compulsory identity cards, compulsory to have. The identity document is used to connect a person to information about the person, often in a database. The connection between the identity document and database is based on personal information present on the document, such as the bearer's full name, birth date, Address (geography), address, an identification number, card number, gender, citizenship and more. A unique national identification number is the most secure way, but some countries lack such numbers or do not s ...
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Scottish Parliament
The Scottish Parliament ( ; ) is the Devolution in the United Kingdom, devolved, unicameral legislature of Scotland. It is located in the Holyrood, Edinburgh, Holyrood area of Edinburgh, and is frequently referred to by the metonym 'Holyrood'. It is a democratically elected body and its role is to scrutinise the Scottish Government and legislate on devolved matters that are not Devolved, reserved and excepted matters, reserved to the Parliament of the United Kingdom. The Scottish Parliament comprises 129 members known as Members of the Scottish Parliament (MSPs), elected for five-year terms under the regionalised form of Additional-member system (MMP): 73 MSPs represent individual geographical Scottish Parliament constituencies and regions, constituencies elected by the Plurality voting system, plurality (first-past-the-post) system, while a further 56 are returned as list members from eight Additional-member system, additional member regions. Each region elects seven party-lis ...
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Local Government In Scotland
Local government in Scotland comprises thirty-two local authorities, commonly referred to as ''councils''. Each council provides public services, including education, social care, waste management, libraries and planning. Councils receive the majority of their funding from the Scottish Government, but operate independently and are accountable to their local electorates. Councils raise additional income via the Council Tax, a locally variable domestic property tax, and Business rates, a non-domestic property tax. Councils are made up of councillors who are directly elected by the residents of the area they represent. Each council area is divided into a number of wards, and three or four councillors are elected for each ward. There are currently 1,227 elected councillors in Scotland. Local elections are normally held every five years and use the single transferable vote electoral system. The most recent election was the 2022 Scottish local elections and the next election w ...
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Senedd
The Senedd ( ; ), officially known as the Welsh Parliament in English and () in Welsh, is the devolved, unicameral legislature of Wales. A democratically elected body, Its role is to scrutinise the Welsh Government and legislate on devolved matters that are not reserved to the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It is a bilingual institution, with both Welsh and English being the official languages of its business. From its creation in May 1999 until May 2020, the Senedd was officially known as the National Assembly for Wales () and was often simply called the Welsh Assembly. The Senedd comprises 60 members who are known as members of the Senedd (), abbreviated as "MS" (). Since 2011, members are elected for a five-year term of office under an Additional-member system, in which 40 MSs represent smaller geographical divisions known as "constituencies" and are elected by first-past-the-post voting, and 20 MSs represent five "electoral regions" using the D'Hondt method of p ...
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Local Government In Wales
Local government in Wales is primarily undertaken by the twenty-two principal councils. The councils are Unitary authority, unitary authorities, meaning they are responsible for providing local government services within their Principal areas of Wales, principal area, including education, social work, environmental protection, and most highway maintenance. The principal areas are divided into Community (Wales), communities, most of which have an elected community council. The services provided by community councils vary, but they will typically maintain public spaces and facilities. Local councils in Wales are elected; the most recent 2022 Welsh local elections, local elections in Wales took place in 2022, and the 2027 Welsh local elections, next are due to take place in 2027. Governance Local government is generally supervised by the (devolved) Welsh Ministers, who allocate funding of the majority of local government yearly revenue and capital settlements. The Government of Wales ...
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2023 United Kingdom Local Elections
The 2023 United Kingdom local elections were held on Thursday, 4 May 2023 in England and on Thursday 18 May 2023 in 2023 Northern Ireland local elections, Northern Ireland. These included Non-metropolitan district, district councils, Unitary authorities of England, unitary authorities, and Directly elected mayors in England, directly elected mayors in England, and included all Local government in Northern Ireland, local councils in Northern Ireland. Notably, these elections were the first to be held under the Elections Act 2022, a new voter identification law that required voters to show photo ID when attending a polling station, and was a cause for controversy. The elections in England saw significant losses for the governing Conservative Party, which lost over 1,000 council seats. The Labour Party, the Liberal Democrats and the Green Party of England and Wales all made gains, with Labour becoming the party with most members elected to local government for the firs ...
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