Thousands of East Devon residents could be refused permission to vote in the upcoming local elections, according to information obtained by the Otter Valley county councillor Jess Bailey.

The Government has introduced voter ID for the elections in May, meaning everyone has to present an accepted form of photo ID such as a passport, driving licence, or the various forms of travel pass available to people aged over 60. Those who don’t have anything suitable can apply for a voter authority certificate via the Government website or by post to East Devon District Council (EDDC).

All applications in East Devon have to be processed by EDDC, and the council has told Cllr Bailey that so far, only around 50 people in the district have applied. With the Government estimating that about four per cent of people do not have ID with a recognisable photo, this means around 5,000 East Devon residents could be turned away from their polling station.

Critics of the voter ID scheme say it will mainly affect younger people, who are statistically more likely to vote Labour.

Cllr Bailey described the situation as ‘extremely concerning’.

She said: “This voter ID scheme is terrible and represents an assault on democracy, disproportionately affecting younger voters. The Conservative Government has not listened to the concerns of many organisations and pressed on regardless with its introduction. This is completely unacceptable.”

She added that administering the voter ID system will cost EDDC an estimated £80,000, which will be covered by a Government grant, but still comes from taxpayers’ money.

The Government argues that voter ID is needed to prevent 'personation’, the crime of pretending to be someone else when you vote. But the level of this type of fraud is very low; the Electoral Commission has said there is no evidence of large-scale electoral fraud.

Applications for a voter authority certificate for the local elections on May 4 must be received by 5pm on Tuesday, April 25. They can be made online via the www.gov.uk website or by post to East Devon District Council.