Just 3% of people without voter ID will have applied for the government's new card in time for May's local elections, figures suggest.
And young people have been among the slowest to sign up.
The Tories rammed through new laws forcing voters to show photo ID at polling stations nationwide for the first time, despite there being no evidence of in-person voter fraud in the UK. But around 2 million people are thought to lack acceptable ID.
And campaigners have accused the government of discriminating against young people by disallowing travel cards and student ID, while allowing pensioners’ to use discount travel cards as identification.
The government estimates the cost of providing ID to people who don't have any will cost taxpayers up to £230 million a year.
But just 20,000 people have so far signed up for a new government-issued card - at an average rate of just 608 per day, according to the government's new online dashboard.
If they continue at the same rate, only 60,215 people will have applied for a card before the deadline of April 25 - just 3% of the total number without ID.
Willie Sullivan, Senior Director of Campaigns for the Electoral Reform Society, said: “It is a basic right in this country that every eligible person should be able to cast their vote.
“So it is deeply concerning that so many people still lack the ID they will need to show for the first time to do so in the rapidly-approaching local elections.”
Election workers will be asked to keep tabs on how many people are turned away from polling stations in the local elections on May 4 for a report to be published later by the Electoral Commission.
And it’s understood they will be allowed to use their ‘discretion’ on whether to allow people to vote with expired forms of ID.
But the Sunday Mirror understand election officials have struggled to recruit staff to work in polling stations as regular volunteers don’t want the added responsibility.
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Mr Sullivan added: “The government has promised that its free ID scheme would mean no one would be unable to cast their vote in May when its new ID rules come into force.
“However, if the low take up of the scheme does not drastically increase it risks seeing people turned away at polling stations, which could do serious harm to trust in democracy.”
A Government spokesperson said: “We cannot be complacent when it comes to ensuring our democracy remains secure and we expect even more people to apply as we near the date of elections.
“The vast majority of people already have a form of acceptable identification and we are actively supporting the very small proportion of people who may not. We are also funding the necessary equipment and staffing to support processing.
“Photo identification has been used in Northern Ireland elections since 2003 and we’re working closely with the sector to support the rollout and funding the necessary equipment and staffing.”
How to sign up for the Government's 'Voter Authority Certificate'
All voters will need to show one of the government’s selected forms of photo ID to cast a ballot in May’s local elections.
Accepted ID includes
- Passport or driving licence
- Proof of age ID cards
- Defence Identity Card
- Bus pass for older people or disabled people, Freedom Pass or Oyster 60+ card
- Disabled blue badge
- Biometric immigration documents
- ID cards issued by an EEA state
But these are NOT accepted:
- Student or work ID cards
- Young person's rail cards or other concessionary travel cards
If you don’t have one of the accepted forms of ID, you can apply for a free voter ID card online by visiting gov.uk
You’ll need a recent, digital photo of yourself and your National Insurance number.
You can also apply by post by printing out the form from the same website, filling it in and post it to your local election registration office.