7 ms·

But it works fine. There have been extensive efforts to find people voting illegally and it turns up a small handful across the entire country, and many of thos

by neaden 1y ago

But it works fine. There have been extensive efforts to find people voting illegally and it turns up a small handful across the entire country, and many of those are things like returning a recently dead persons mail in ballot that voter ID wouldn't even help with. The fact is that all the evidence says an incredibly small number of people vote who are not legally eligible to do so, and only a small proportion of those are non-citizen immigrants.

jimbo808 1y ago
It doesn't work if a large portion of the country believes that this issue is causing voter fraud. It doesn't have to be really happening, it just has to be possible and perceived to be happening. We can easily fix that.
- tastyface 1y ago
  Here's the way I see it: 1. Right-wing think tanks spend a bunch of time workshopping ways to gain a few extra % points in elections. Turns out that poor voters without ID vote Democrat more often than not. 2. Those think tanks then disseminate FUD to Fox news and similar outlets that there's widespread voter fraud, illegals voting, etc.!!! 3. Some people get spooked and start losing faith in elections. 4. Voter ID laws pass. Swaths of poor people (majority Democrats) lose the ability to vote and aren't able to spend hours getting IDs. Meanwhile, entrenched powers reduce funding and opening times for offices that can assist with this. 5. Single-party rule gets a bit more entrenched in this country. The way to address lies and propaganda isn't to just give in to those lies. Any voter ID law must come with a precondition that *everyone* who wants an ID can easily get one, preferably by mail and with about 15 minutes of effort. (Plus accommodations for people who are homeless, lack a birth certificate, etc.) Without such a precondition, the true purpose of these efforts is obvious.
- plorkyeran 1y ago
  No, it doesn’t actually need to be possible for it to be perceived as happening when you have an organized campaign dedicated to convince people it’s happening.
- neaden 1y ago
  That doesn't make any sense to me. If a lot of people believe a lie you don't start acting like the lie is true, you teach them the truth. If one of my neighbors becomes worried tigers are going to attack and eat him I'm not going to help him build a giant tiger proof fence around his house.

by neaden 1y ago

jimbo808 1y ago

It doesn't work if a large portion of the country believes that this issue is causing voter fraud. It doesn't have to be really happening, it just has to be possible and perceived to be happening. We can easily fix that.

tastyface 1y ago
Here's the way I see it: 1. Right-wing think tanks spend a bunch of time workshopping ways to gain a few extra % points in elections. Turns out that poor voters without ID vote Democrat more often than not. 2. Those think tanks then disseminate FUD to Fox news and similar outlets that there's widespread voter fraud, illegals voting, etc.!!! 3. Some people get spooked and start losing faith in elections. 4. Voter ID laws pass. Swaths of poor people (majority Democrats) lose the ability to vote and aren't able to spend hours getting IDs. Meanwhile, entrenched powers reduce funding and opening times for offices that can assist with this. 5. Single-party rule gets a bit more entrenched in this country. The way to address lies and propaganda isn't to just give in to those lies. Any voter ID law must come with a precondition that *everyone* who wants an ID can easily get one, preferably by mail and with about 15 minutes of effort. (Plus accommodations for people who are homeless, lack a birth certificate, etc.) Without such a precondition, the true purpose of these efforts is obvious.
plorkyeran 1y ago
No, it doesn’t actually need to be possible for it to be perceived as happening when you have an organized campaign dedicated to convince people it’s happening.
neaden 1y ago
That doesn't make any sense to me. If a lot of people believe a lie you don't start acting like the lie is true, you teach them the truth. If one of my neighbors becomes worried tigers are going to attack and eat him I'm not going to help him build a giant tiger proof fence around his house.