People have been denied the right to vote in local council elections in a controversial pilot of ID checks that force voters to prove their identities before casting their ballot.
A 76-year-old man who has lived in Bromley for 40 years told The Independent he was shocked to be turned away because he did not have a bank card or passport.
This is a nonsense scheme, Peter White added.
Gosport, Swindon, Watford and Woking are also running the pilot schemes, which have long raised fears that people will be wrongly disenfranchised.
Mr White’s wife, Kathleen Milward, said that although she does have the relevant identification, she will not be voting out of principle.
I’m angry because I don’t believe in carrying ID. Having the vote is a basic human right in a democracy, and this is supposed to be a democracy, the 72-year-old added.
I’m choosing not to vote, and I’ve never done that before. I think people who have problems with their ID will certainly be disenfranchised, even if they’ve lived here for many years.
As we know from this last week or two, there are a lot of people out there who are in that situation. And means I have to make a stand from that point of view too, because I know that they will be either disenfranchised or will not feel happy to come down and vote.
Ministers claimed the scheme will help combat electoral fraud but critics argue it will suppress turnout.
Chris Skidmore, minister for the constitution, said: For people to have confidence in our democratic processes we need to ensure that our elections are safeguarded against any threat or perception of electoral fraud.
The current situation of people simply pointing out their name without having to prove who they are feels out of date when considering other safeguards to protect people’s identity. It is harder to take out a library book or collect a parcel at a post office than it is to vote in someone’s name.
The government pointed out that many other countries require ID to vote, including Northern Ireland, which brought in the measure in 1985. There have been no reports of voter impersonation since 2003.
Across England, more than 4,000 seats are being contested in around 150 councils including all 32 London boroughs, as well as every ward in Birmingham, Manchester, Leeds and Newcastle.
Mayoral elections are taking place in Hackney, Lewisham, Newham, Tower Hamlets, Watford and the Sheffield City region, but there are no polls in Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland.
Recent national opinion polls have seen Conservatives and Labour running neck-and-neck on about 40 per cent each.
London is the major battleground for today’s elections after recent polls pointed towards a substantial swing to Labour.
Jeremy Corbyn’s party will be hoping to win control of Tower Hamlets and Barnet and possibly even the flagship Conservative councils of Wandsworth and Westminster.
Upsets are possible elsewhere, with Labour also hopeful of taking power in the Yorkshire town halls of Kirklees and Calderdale, Trafford in Greater Manchester, and Plymouth and Swindon in the south.
Liberal Democrats are hoping their promise of a second referendum on Brexit will help them regain Remain-supporting areas, while the Conservatives may be boosted by Ukip’s decline in the polls in Basildon and Great Yarmouth.
Polls close at 10pm and the first results could begin to arrive at around midnight and are expected to be in full flow by 2am.
Most councils are counting votes overnight but others will declare results during the day on Friday.