A "significant number" of issues with the need for voter ID in local elections means the requirement for it should be scrapped, a campaign group has said.
Unlock Democracy said the efforts to introduce the scheme "went very badly", and that the requirement for photo ID was "not necessary".
For the first time, everyone voting in the local elections needed to show ID.
The Electoral Commission acknowledged challenges with the plan.
"I think it went very badly and what happened was highly predictable," Tom Brake, director of Unlock Democracy, told the BBC.
He said his organisation had been tracking social media throughout the day on Thursday, and that it was clear that a "significant number of people didn't know about the need for voter ID".
Other issues included people not bringing with them the correct form of identification - documents such as passports, driving licences and bus passes were required - as well as those arriving with photographs of their ID, which were not valid.
'Why on earth is my ID badge not acceptable?'
Andre Vince, an NHS worker in West Sussex, told the BBC he was "incensed" after he was unable to use his NHS ID badge to vote in the local election.
He said officials told him the identification wasn't acceptable, and that he would instead need to provide his passport or driver's licence.
"I would like to say how appalled I am about these undemocratic changes and wonder how many other hard-working, tax-paying people have also been denied their right to vote," he said.
He said the voting slip clearly states the need for photo ID, which the NHS badge provides.
"Why on earth would they reject it? It's just unbelievable," he said.
Before the vote, critics warned that the changes were unnecessary and would damage democracy by making it harder for some to vote.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has said the ID checks will ensure elections are "high-integrity processes".
Since 2018, there have been nine convictions and six police cautions issued in connection with cases of electoral fraud, according to the Electoral Commission.
Commission chairman John Pullinger acknowledged there were issues with voter ID, but said his organisation needed to collect data "before we get a proper picture of the impact".
"Everyone who has the right to vote should be able to cast their vote, and we need to get the underneath the challenges that they faced," he told BBC Radio 4's Today programme, adding that the commission would release an initial report next month, and a fuller report in September, on recommendations around the issue.
He added that the rules were set by Parliament and that once the assessment was completed "there will be the chance for politicians to make a view as to whether something should be changed or not".
Mr Brake said that the official number of people being turned away from voting would not be accurate because of the presence of "greeters" outside polling stations, who turned voters away if they did not have the correct ID.
"We have consistently said it should be scrapped - photo ID is not necessary," he said, adding that the number of people turned away from polling stations was "far greater" than the number of people convicted of voter impersonation.
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2023-05-05 08:05:51Z
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