4 ms·

So I still think we should have Voter-ID, but I don't think we're ready for it yet. My arguments for: First, don't people have to register to vote in most pla

So I still think we should have Voter-ID, but I don't think we're ready for it yet. My arguments for: First, don't people have to register to vote in most places? I don't see how bundling your Voter-ID acquisition with registering to vote would be bad. Second, a valid state ID should be enough to vote even with Voter-ID. This DRASTICALLY reduces the number of IDs we need to handle. My main argument against not doing it right now: We'd need proper funding that we're not going to get in the current political climate. A half-assed solution would be BAD.

boomboomsubban 8y ago
> I don't see how bundling your Voter-ID acquisition with registering to vote would be bad. How many times have you forgotten to bring some random item you need for something you're doing? Why stop someone from voting because of a mistake virtually anyone could make?
- patejam 8y ago
  I don't think forgetfulness has a political bias
  - boomboomsubban 8y ago
    I has a time based pro-wealth bias that becomes much larger when you combine it with your second argument, as you're less likely to forget something you take every day.
beat 8y ago
It's not about whether we can. It's about whether we should. This is a freedom-based problem. First, what problem is voter id supposed to solve? Well, people cheating by voting illegally. Is this an actual, demonstrable problem? No. Despite grandiose claims by FOX News and Donald Trump, there is no evidence of widespread voting fraud. So we've established that this is a solution to a problem that does not actually exist. Second, does it impact our freedom? Voting is both our right and responsibility as citizens. Should we be required to carry and show id just to prove that we are citizens? "Do you have your papers, citizen?" used to be a joke we made about the shortcomings of totalitarian communist dictatorships. So yes, it does impact our freedom, as we should be free to go about our day without carrying government id at all times, and I believe that would include the act of voting. Limiting our freedom to solve fake problems sounds un-American to me.
- patejam 8y ago
  We're already not free to walk around without papers for certain activities. Entering a bar, buying restricted substances (including some medication!), driving a car, leaving and entering the country, etc. None of that means we're in some totalitarian dictatorship. I've seen plenty of elections come down to 100s of votes. To me this seems like an attack vector we shouldn't ignore. Besides, we already have the concept of provisional ballots if people end up not having or forgetting their ID. But again, I don't think we're ready for all this. A half-assed solution would be very bad, and I don't trust the current system to handle this in a partisan way.

boomboomsubban 8y ago

> I don't see how bundling your Voter-ID acquisition with registering to vote would be bad. How many times have you forgotten to bring some random item you need for something you're doing? Why stop someone from voting because of a mistake virtually anyone could make?

patejam 8y ago
I don't think forgetfulness has a political bias
- boomboomsubban 8y ago
  I has a time based pro-wealth bias that becomes much larger when you combine it with your second argument, as you're less likely to forget something you take every day.

beat 8y ago

It's not about whether we can. It's about whether we should. This is a freedom-based problem. First, what problem is voter id supposed to solve? Well, people cheating by voting illegally. Is this an actual, demonstrable problem? No. Despite grandiose claims by FOX News and Donald Trump, there is no evidence of widespread voting fraud. So we've established that this is a solution to a problem that does not actually exist. Second, does it impact our freedom? Voting is both our right and responsibility as citizens. Should we be required to carry and show id just to prove that we are citizens? "Do you have your papers, citizen?" used to be a joke we made about the shortcomings of totalitarian communist dictatorships. So yes, it does impact our freedom, as we should be free to go about our day without carrying government id at all times, and I believe that would include the act of voting. Limiting our freedom to solve fake problems sounds un-American to me.

patejam 8y ago
We're already not free to walk around without papers for certain activities. Entering a bar, buying restricted substances (including some medication!), driving a car, leaving and entering the country, etc. None of that means we're in some totalitarian dictatorship. I've seen plenty of elections come down to 100s of votes. To me this seems like an attack vector we shouldn't ignore. Besides, we already have the concept of provisional ballots if people end up not having or forgetting their ID. But again, I don't think we're ready for all this. A half-assed solution would be very bad, and I don't trust the current system to handle this in a partisan way.