THE NUMBER of people who did not return to vote in the General Election in Central Fife after being turned away at the polling station has been revealed.

Since May 2023, voters have needed to show photo ID to vote in UK parliamentary elections.

The move has proved controversial, with some groups saying it may make voting harder for younger people and ethnic minorities, who are less likely to have a valid form of photo ID.

New figures from the Electoral Commission show 70 voters were initially turned away from polling stations in Cowdenbeath and Kirkcaldy constituency due to ID rules in the general election this July.

There were 47 who returned to cast their vote with 23 not coming back.

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The figures for Glenrothes and Mid Fife show that 82 people in the constituency were turned away, from which, 46 returned to vote and 36 did not while in Dunfermline and Dollar, 80 voters were initially turned away from polling stations. From these, 51 returned to vote, 29 did not.

The organisation cautions the true number may be higher than this, as some voters may have been told about the ID requirement by staff before they asked for a ballot, and therefore would not have been recorded as being turned away.

In total, 26,860 voted in Cowdenbeath and Kirkcaldy at 74 polling stations, 25,825 people voted across 74 polling stations in Glenrothes and Mid Fife and 30,339 people voted at 75 polling stations in Dunfermline and Dollar.

Across Great Britain 50,000 people were initially turned away due to not having valid ID, with 16,000 people not returning to vote.

However, some polling stations did not submit data on the number of people unable to vote, so the true figure may be higher.

While this was a small proportion of the nearly 20 million people who voted at polling stations, the Electoral Commission warned some may have been put off voting by the new rules.

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Electoral Commission chief executive Vijay Rangarajan said: "This was the first time all voters across the UK were required to show photographic ID at a general election, and the data shows almost everyone was able to do so successfully.

"However, our research shows that the need for ID discouraged some people from voting – and we don’t want to see any voters lose their say."

Polling for the organisation suggests 71 per cent of 18 to 24-year-olds are aware of the rules, compared to 91 per cent for those aged 45 and over.

In addition, 76 per cent of people from ethnic minority communities were aware of the rules compared to 90 per cent of white people.

Mr Rangarajan continued: "Public awareness of the need for voter ID is high across the UK, but there are still groups of voters that are less likely to be aware of the need to show ID or that do not have an accepted form.

"Everyone eligible should have the opportunity to vote, which is why we are recommending changes that will support those who do not currently have ID and improve the accessibility of elections, while maintaining the security of the process."