5 ms·

The western European country where I live demands ID for voting. It is entirely non-controversial.

namibj 2y ago
Do they maybe also mandate ownership of a valid suitable (for voting) form of ID? Because then it's something you need regardless of voting, so you aren't using right to vote to force it onto people.
- docdeek 2y ago
  I'm not sure if it is mandated but it is certainly relatively easily obtained. You will need a birth certificate and it will often differ in name for married women. The relative ease with which it can be obtained is important for voting, I suspect.
Arnt 2y ago
The one where I live does too, but it's one that people have. The requirement is not obnoxious. It's not even bothersome.
sebazzz 2y ago
And also doesn’t require any kind of registration. You just get the voting papers mailed in, and you hand them in at the place of voting - together with your ID for verification.
- docdeek 2y ago
  I had to register (being a European citizen but not a national citizen) but, yes, it's all straightforward.
r00fus 2y ago
The entire problem is that it's very difficult to obtain ID in many jurisdictions because the ruling class uses it to decrease the "wrong people" from voting. None of the people who want ID for voting want to make getting said ID easier.
- CivBase 2y ago
  It's kind of a catch-22 though, isn't it? If people rarely need the documentation, there are few incentives to streamline the process for getting it.
  - Timon3 2y ago
    But there's no reason to wait with streamlining until people need it. If you know you want to require IDs, streamline the process in the years before.
    - CivBase 2y ago
      It's been my observation that organizations - including governments - rarely have that level of foresight. They're usually more reactionary.
      - hn_acker 2y ago
        Now, there's less need for foresight than for US state legislators to admitt that many currently active or already proposed voter ID laws suppress more valid voters than prevent fraud votes.

Do they maybe also mandate ownership of a valid suitable (for voting) form of ID? Because then it's something you need regardless of voting, so you aren't using right to vote to force it onto people.

docdeek 2y ago
I'm not sure if it is mandated but it is certainly relatively easily obtained. You will need a birth certificate and it will often differ in name for married women. The relative ease with which it can be obtained is important for voting, I suspect.

Arnt 2y ago

The one where I live does too, but it's one that people have. The requirement is not obnoxious. It's not even bothersome.

sebazzz 2y ago

And also doesn’t require any kind of registration. You just get the voting papers mailed in, and you hand them in at the place of voting - together with your ID for verification.

docdeek 2y ago
I had to register (being a European citizen but not a national citizen) but, yes, it's all straightforward.

r00fus 2y ago

The entire problem is that it's very difficult to obtain ID in many jurisdictions because the ruling class uses it to decrease the "wrong people" from voting. None of the people who want ID for voting want to make getting said ID easier.

CivBase 2y ago
It's kind of a catch-22 though, isn't it? If people rarely need the documentation, there are few incentives to streamline the process for getting it.
- Timon3 2y ago
  But there's no reason to wait with streamlining until people need it. If you know you want to require IDs, streamline the process in the years before.
  - CivBase 2y ago
    It's been my observation that organizations - including governments - rarely have that level of foresight. They're usually more reactionary.
    - hn_acker 2y ago
      Now, there's less need for foresight than for US state legislators to admitt that many currently active or already proposed voter ID laws suppress more valid voters than prevent fraud votes.