Labor members now required to present photo ID before casting their votes

A new requirement for Victorian Labor members has drawn criticism that the party has “no understanding of normal working class people”.

Labor members preparing to vote in key internal elections for the first time in three years will now need to show photo ID before casting their ballot.

The move has caused angst among some who say the move discriminates against both junior and senior members.

Students 14 and over can join the party and have full voting rights, but members say many don’t have either a license or a passport.

Likewise, older members who no longer drive have been left scrambling to find some form of photo ID.

“It goes to the whole point the ALP is becoming more and more narrow and elitist,” one source said.

“People who have repeatedly voted over the years and are well known will be denied the right to vote under this arbitrary rule.

“There’s no feel for working class people, we have a membership now that's the lowest its been in over 30 years.”

Former deputy leader of the Labor Party Jenny Macklin was appoointed an administrator of the local branch behind the new photo ID rule.

Labors sources said Victorian membership had dropped to a “concerning” 10,000.

“There is such a widespread disaffection from the way the Labor Party has conducted itself in recent years,” a source said.

“There’s no understanding of normal working class people.”

Labor members will vote for internal party positions over the next two weekends ahead of June’s two-day state conference.

It is the first time members have had a say in the running of the party since the federal takeover of the Victorian branch in 2020.

Former premier Steve Bracks was appointed administrator of the local branch behind the new photo ID rule.

Former premier Steve Bracks and Jenny Macklin were appointed administrators of the local branch, and were behind the new photo ID rule.

It was one of 37 sweeping reforms they recommended in a report into Victorian Labor.

It also called for a total overhaul of Labor’s membership processes after it found branch stacking had “brazenly increased” and become more sophisticated.