8 ms·

Believe it or note, requiring ID to vote in the United States is considered controversial.

return-value 8y ago
We don’t require ID as such. Every citizen is issued a little piece of paper that they can trade in for a ballot for that specific election. We used to look people up in big books, that are printed for the occasion, to make sure their piece is valid and they haven’t already voted - which took a long time and led to queues. That’s the part we digitized. But you can vote without ID as long as you have that piece of paper and know your birthdate. I’m actually not sure how the homeless vote (they can’t receive the piece of paper), but I guess they probably do a mail vote at their local municipality.
- redorb 8y ago
  But there was some ID to get that piece of paper right?
  - return-value 8y ago
    Well, it’s sent to your address. We do have a central registry of every citizen, so I guess that might scare some Americans. You don’t need that though, you could pick up your registration at any municipality with your ID. That’s how I vote, I work from before the voting starts to after it closes, so I vote via mail.
    - cobookman 8y ago
      > We do have a central registry of every citizen, so I guess that might scare some Americans. US has same registry. It might not include every american but I'd be suprised if it doesn't have 99.99% of all Americans in it.
      - deleted 8y ago
        [deleted]
RobAtticus 8y ago
It sounds like this is done via automatic registration, which solves a major objection that opponents of voter IDs in the USA generally have (i.e., IDs are too hard for some people to get to make them a prerequisite). Automatic registration is likely controversial in the US for different reasons, as other posters mentioned.
slg 8y ago
Because citizens are not required to have ID and those that don't have one are disproportionately racial minorities and/or in lower socioeconomic classes. Democrats would be much more willing to allow ID to be required to vote if there was a national ID card issued to every citizen, but Republicans would be against any system that would try to create a national ID.
- jniedrauer 8y ago
  We desperately need a national ID card. Social security was never designed for this purpose and it's terrible for it. Drivers license requires having access to a car and some way to learn how to use it.
  - QuercusMax 8y ago
    If we're going to have a national ID card, then it needs to be: 1) Free. Period. Otherwise you're going to disenfranchise poor people who can't afford even $50 to get an ID. 2) Universally accessible. If we're going to require it, then we need to make sure everyone has one, from a little old lady living 100 miles from civilization in Montana, to the homeless living in camps near San Jose.
    - tjoff 8y ago
      Neither of those points could possibly be a problem.
      - dev_dull 8y ago
        You’ve clearly never seen your local government at work.
        AnimalMuppet 8y ago
        I think tjoff was being sarcastic, but I'm not certain.
    - 8y ago
howard941 8y ago
My polling place features first a comparison of photo id to the person and then an amateur attempts and fails to properly frank the voter's signature. How is it that passing the Real-ID photo-ID hurdle but failing the amateur-verified signature franking is acceptable in this country?
XorNot 8y ago
The example in the OP notes that every adult gets a voter registration card, by default. No proposal for voter ID in the US has ever accompanied a serious effort to ensure all citizens have easy access to suitable ID. Many proposals have been explicitly crafted on the back of data gathering campaigns to determine which forms of ID "unfavorable" groups generally do not have.
rsynnott 8y ago
We require ID to vote in Ireland (theoretically; it’s a spot check thing). The difference is that practically anything is ID for this purpose; a social services card, bank statement, debit card, birth certificate etc etc. So if you either receive any type of social welfare or have a job you almost certainly have ID. This doesn’t seem to be the case for most of the proposed American requirements, at all. Most other countries in Europe have mandatory govt id anyway, so it’s not a major burden.

We don’t require ID as such. Every citizen is issued a little piece of paper that they can trade in for a ballot for that specific election. We used to look people up in big books, that are printed for the occasion, to make sure their piece is valid and they haven’t already voted - which took a long time and led to queues. That’s the part we digitized. But you can vote without ID as long as you have that piece of paper and know your birthdate. I’m actually not sure how the homeless vote (they can’t receive the piece of paper), but I guess they probably do a mail vote at their local municipality.

redorb 8y ago
But there was some ID to get that piece of paper right?
- return-value 8y ago
  Well, it’s sent to your address. We do have a central registry of every citizen, so I guess that might scare some Americans. You don’t need that though, you could pick up your registration at any municipality with your ID. That’s how I vote, I work from before the voting starts to after it closes, so I vote via mail.
  - cobookman 8y ago
    > We do have a central registry of every citizen, so I guess that might scare some Americans. US has same registry. It might not include every american but I'd be suprised if it doesn't have 99.99% of all Americans in it.
    - deleted 8y ago
      [deleted]

RobAtticus 8y ago

It sounds like this is done via automatic registration, which solves a major objection that opponents of voter IDs in the USA generally have (i.e., IDs are too hard for some people to get to make them a prerequisite). Automatic registration is likely controversial in the US for different reasons, as other posters mentioned.

slg 8y ago

Because citizens are not required to have ID and those that don't have one are disproportionately racial minorities and/or in lower socioeconomic classes. Democrats would be much more willing to allow ID to be required to vote if there was a national ID card issued to every citizen, but Republicans would be against any system that would try to create a national ID.

jniedrauer 8y ago
We desperately need a national ID card. Social security was never designed for this purpose and it's terrible for it. Drivers license requires having access to a car and some way to learn how to use it.
- QuercusMax 8y ago
  If we're going to have a national ID card, then it needs to be: 1) Free. Period. Otherwise you're going to disenfranchise poor people who can't afford even $50 to get an ID. 2) Universally accessible. If we're going to require it, then we need to make sure everyone has one, from a little old lady living 100 miles from civilization in Montana, to the homeless living in camps near San Jose.
  - tjoff 8y ago
    Neither of those points could possibly be a problem.
    - dev_dull 8y ago
      You’ve clearly never seen your local government at work.
      - AnimalMuppet 8y ago
        I think tjoff was being sarcastic, but I'm not certain.
  - 8y ago

howard941 8y ago

My polling place features first a comparison of photo id to the person and then an amateur attempts and fails to properly frank the voter's signature. How is it that passing the Real-ID photo-ID hurdle but failing the amateur-verified signature franking is acceptable in this country?

XorNot 8y ago

The example in the OP notes that every adult gets a voter registration card, by default. No proposal for voter ID in the US has ever accompanied a serious effort to ensure all citizens have easy access to suitable ID. Many proposals have been explicitly crafted on the back of data gathering campaigns to determine which forms of ID "unfavorable" groups generally do not have.

rsynnott 8y ago

We require ID to vote in Ireland (theoretically; it’s a spot check thing). The difference is that practically anything is ID for this purpose; a social services card, bank statement, debit card, birth certificate etc etc. So if you either receive any type of social welfare or have a job you almost certainly have ID. This doesn’t seem to be the case for most of the proposed American requirements, at all. Most other countries in Europe have mandatory govt id anyway, so it’s not a major burden.