10 ms·

If that doesn't appease you, how about... Driving a car. Renting a car. Staying in a hotel room. Flying on a plane. Opening a bank account. Many, many things i

• djur 13y ago
  None of those things are fundamental elements of democracy. Voting is.
• raganwald 13y ago
  Driving a car. Renting a car. Staying in a hotel room. Flying on a plane. Opening a bank account. Many, many things in life require having money. It's amazing how that's accepted as normal but somehow outrageous when voting is involved.
• dragonwriter 13y ago
  > Many, many things in life require photo ID. None of those things are fundamental rights of citizenship like voting. > It's amazing how that's accepted as normal but somehow outrageous when voting is involved. It is, poll tax issue aside, a method which presumes ineligibility and puts the burden on the citizen to prove their eligibility (which most state ID schemes, given their documentation requirements, would be as voting prerequisites even if the costs were waived.)
• tzs 13y ago
  The ID requirement for renting a car or staying in a hotel is not designed to prevent people from renting cars or staying in hotels. It is to protect the rental company or the hotel from actual risks. The recent ID laws for voting in the US are designed solely to prevent people from voting. The ID requirement are designed to require procedures and documentation that is hardest for poor people and minorities--coincidentally people who tend to not vote for the party that is pushing voter ID laws. The proponents state it is to reduce voter fraud, but fraud based on exploiting a lack of ID requirements is close to if not nonexistent in the US.