A passport is not necessarily enough. A passport doesn't prove that you are a resident of the state or that you have lived in your current location for a perio

A passport is not necessarily enough. A passport doesn't prove that you are a resident of the state or that you have lived in your current location for a period of time, which may be a requirement. You probably don't realize this, but living in the same place every month, or even every night, is not necessarily something everyone can say, much less prove. Know any legally blind people? How easy is it for them to find a birth certificate to get a passport? Also many states have attempted to change voting requirements close to elections. That's one of the many reasons the Justice Department has gotten involved. You can also look at the rules for tribal IDs for native americans. Plus even if every requirement is free, that doesn't necessarily mean that the person is savvy enough and committed to know how to navigate the system. Free doesn't mean easy, it doesn't mean that it doesn't take time. Remember, it's a lot easier to take time off to get passport photos taken, or go down to the DMV, or request a fee waiver if you aren't working two jobs and taking care of kids on your own. Go ask five friends if they know about the fee waiver, and then ask yourself, is a poor person more or less likely to have the education and cultural literacy that your friends have? Or you can just trust people when they tell you there is a problem.