Former U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson was turned away from his local polling station Thursday as he failed bring with him photo identification, which is required under a relatively new law introduced by his government two years ago.
Polling station staff in Johnson's constituency of South Oxfordshire were forced to turn the former Conservative party chief away as Johnson attempted to cast his ballot in local elections, as first reported by the U.K.'s Sky News.
Johnson later returned with the necessary ID to cast his vote, according to Sky.
Johnson has not publicly commented on the incident. The last post on his X account, published as voting began Thursday in a number of local and regional elections around the U.K., read: "The polls are now open. Vote Conservative today!"
Under The Election Act, legislation that passed into law in 2022 under Johnson's government, British voters are required to show an accepted form of photo ID at polling stations.
Critics of the law have said the legislation makes it more difficult for people to vote and will act as a form of voter suppression.
A spokesperson for Britain's Electoral Commission said after polls closed on Thursday night that "a number of new measures from the Elections Act were in force at these elections, including voter ID for the first time in Wales and parts of England. The electoral community has been working hard to prepare voters for these changes. Most voters who wanted to vote were able to do so."
"Our initial assessment of the elections is that they were well-run, and millions of voters were able to exercise their democratic rights," the spokesperson said.
