Close of polls statement – 4 May 2023

The initial picture is that polling day has run as smoothly as usual, without any major issues. This is testament to months of planning and hard work from Returning Officers and electoral administrators.

We’ve seen many anecdotal reports of people not having been able to vote because they didn’t meet new voter ID requirements. If anyone feels they have been wrongly refused a ballot paper, we would encourage you to contact your local elections office with details so they can look into it.

It is still too early to gauge how introducing voter ID has gone. Data will be released at local council level in the coming days, but the main focus for now will be counting votes.

We will be working with our members, the wider electoral community, Electoral Commission and Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities to evaluate how voter ID and today’s polls have run overall. It is crucial to identify, acknowledge and address issues – plus acknowledge and share good practice – ahead of future elections.