[5][6][7] According to academic research presented to the House of Commons in 2021, these changes could be expected to result in 1.1 million fewer voters at the subsequent general election due to the photo ID requirement.

[8] Key elements of the act were opposed by parliamentary committees, the House of Lords, the Electoral Commission, devolved governments, and academics.

[10][11] Toby James, a professor of politics and public policy, has said "the inclusiveness of elections has been undermined by the act and it weakens the UK's claim to be a beacon of democracy".

The bill also changed mayoral and police and crime commissioner elections from a supplementary vote (SV) system to a first-past-the-post (FPTP) system, which critics say are an attempt by the ruling Conservative Party to make it easier to win future contests without getting a majority of the total votes, most particularly in London (as a plurality would suffice for a victory).

Voters in five local authorities in England (Bromley, Gosport, Swindon, Watford and Woking) were required to show ID before voting.

[26] On 16 January 2023, the Voter Authority Certificate service was launched, allowing UK electors to obtain a free form of photo ID exclusively for voting.

[12] The government said that these forms of ID were rejected on the grounds that, compared to their equivalents for older citizens, they have less stringent application requirements and so were less secure.

[15] A column in The National said the real intention is to make it harder to vote for "certain demographic groups which tend not to support the Conservatives".

Rowley issued an official response to the point of order, stating that Rees-Mogg's comments were irrelevant to the government's motives for introducing the change.

[41] Bob Kerslake, former Head of the Home Civil Service, claimed the changes to mayoral and police elections are motivated by a perceived advantage the Conservatives have under first-past-the-post due to vote splitting.

[43] It added that "the Statement has no precedent in the accountability arrangements of electoral commissions in other comparable democracies, such as Canada, Australia or New Zealand.

"[42] Following the passing of the act law firm Mishcon de Reya said that the Strategy and Policy Statement "has created the potential for existing and future Governments to enhance its electoral prospects".

[45] A study by the Electoral Commission found that at least 14,000 people had been stopped from voting at polling stations in the 2023 local elections because they lacked the required ID.

[48] Ahead of the May 2024 local elections, research carried out by YouGov found that one in seven (or 14%) British people were unaware of the requirement to have an acceptable form of photo ID in order to vote.