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I don't see a problem with having people provide ID to vote. That's how you make sure they are who they say they are.
I don't have the data. But im willing to bet that providing ID to vote is the norm around the world. I know for fact it is in EU at least.
I just explained it.
No, the current default is voter registration cards.
https://www.usa.gov/voter-id
Basically you go to the election office, or your state's website. Then you fill out everything that proves who you are (current address, SSN, etc), and they give you a registration card to prove you are who you are.
Or you register for a mail in ballot, which is basically the same process, but they just know where you live and therefore where to send your ballot.
This sounds the same, bit the difference is that registration cards are free, and can be done online. Other forms of ID like drivers licenses and passports are not free, require transportation to some office, and take time out of your day during business hours (potentially hours, and potentially requiring time off from work which is an additional barrier).
They are not the same.
Let me rephrase then. My opinion is that having to provide valid ID to vote in an election is reasonable.
My understanding is they are putting in the step that you need to prove citizenship when registering to vote. By Birth Certificate, US Passport, or naturalization documentation.
Most people should have their birth certificate. And if they don't, you can request it from your government, I've seen that costs 50 dollars, it should be free. I'm sorry it's not.
When you file to change your name, now you also have to file to change your birth certificate, that should be done automatically, I'm sorry it's not.
I don't think the idea, of making sure your voters are citizens and who they say they are, is unreasonable. I'm a bit surprised it already wasn't the case. But yes, I agree that the whole procedure of registering to vote is sub-optimal.
I also think it kind of pales in comparison when you think about how the entire system after votes are cast works. If you're a republican in California or a Democrat in Texas, you might as just not vote. After the opposite party "win the state" your vote no longer matters. That shouldn't be the case. Each and every vote should have equal worth.
It is already the case that we verify who people are at the polls. That's what the voter registration card is.
Voter registration card => Free, no travel needed, can be done outside of businesshours, no prerequisites that cost money, just need to know your information
Drivers license => Money, travel, time during business hours
Passport => same as previous
They want to move us off of the system that's already working to verify identity with no barriers to entry, to one that does have barriers to entry.
I agree, it's fucked up and planely apparent that it's a failure even on paper.
However it is still worth voting in every election, aa there are local positions on the ballot every time, and those have a much better chance of being swayed away from the lunatics in the GOP. And that's especially the case if it's a city.
The whole system we have for elections is fucked, the least we can do is not make it more fucked by putting up more barriers to entry.
The problem is that every time Republicans get something like this passed, their very next step will be to make it harder to get. Maybe they add new requirements to get the ID, or maybe they close half the administrative offices in "undesirable" districts, or maybe they raise the cost. It's always something. Their goal is not to secure elections, it's to discourage people from voting. The people it discourages most are the ones with the least free time to jump through hoops. A single mother with two jobs is not going to allocate too much time to voting.
Fair point. Something I did not consider.
Though as far as I can recall, Democrats have done little to actually make voting more accessible. From what I can see, neither party seems interested. A simple step such as holding elections on a weekend or non-working day where the majority is free would go a long way. Not to play whatabout here. The idea of having to prove you're a citizen to vote is reasonable. Your fear is they will make that proof unreasonably difficult to attain is understandable.
To be clear, you already have to prove you are a citizen to vote. It's done through the voter registration process which has to be done before you can vote. The new requirement would be that the ID used at the polling place include proof of citizenship, which is completely unnecessary.
There is zero evidence of any significant number of non-citizens on the voter rolls, and zero evidence of a significant number of voters using false identities. The few cases we have seen could never swing an election and are almost entirely done by Republicans.