On Thursday 3 May 2018, Woking, along with four other local authorities in England, participated in the Cabinet Office’s voter identification trial.
Each individual scheme was drawn up by the local authority, working collaboratively with the Cabinet Office, Electoral Commission and the Association of Electoral Administrators and the scheme for Woking was agreed by the Council at its meeting in September 2017.
Figures demonstrate that out of 18,851 voters who attended a polling station, 99.73% of electors provided the right form of photographic ID. In total, 51 people (0.27%) brought the wrong ID or attended with no ID and were not issued with a ballot paper.
The report indicates that overall turnout to the election was unaffected by the trial, comparing favourably to previous elections at 37.75% compared to 37.71% in 2017 and 35.81% in 2012 (when the last Borough only election was held), with minor local ward level variances.