Voter ID laws

[Twilight Hue]

It's not forced voting; it's forced poll attendance. Australians can still spoil their ballot without penalty.

Not showing up is also a statement that people ought to be free to do. It's still forced.

 

[PureX]

Wow. I remember just getting my 18+ card simply cos I was excited to be able to buy booze. In hindsight it was pretty expensive but living with the folks at the time and lucky enough I had a job, I didn’t feel it.

Yes, and here in PA, the republicans in power recently tried to get these laws requiring special IDs passed just weeks before the last presidential election, knowing full well that even if one were able to obtain such an ID, there would be very little time for them to do it before the election. Fortunately, the state courts struck down their attempt, based on exactly that rushed timeline.

I don't mind having all U.S. citizens get and carry a legitimate form of ID. But we need to make it uniform and available to everyone, for free, and allow sufficient time for everyone to get one before we demand that it be presented, for anything.

 

[Revoltingest]

So as an Australian, I legit have no idea about these sorts of law that are consistently reported worldwide
Since in Oz I have to show up to the booths or I face a fine.

So I’m merely curious.
What are these laws
And how do they affect citizens?

Question....
If you don't vote, & they fine you, this suggests
that you need some proof of having voted.
Do they require ID, so that you can't just hire
someone to vote for you?

Hmmm....if we had such a law here, that would
be even more racist than requiring ID. Why?
Poor folk wouldn't be able to easily get to polls,
& could ill afford to spend the time waiting.
(We're a very poor & suffering country, ya know.)

 

[PureX]

Not showing up is also a statement that people ought to be free to do. It's still forced.

I'd be OK with it. Asking all the members of a society to show up for an important decision involving the welfare of everyone in that society sounds quite logical and reasonable, to me. Whereas refusing to show to for such a decision just sounds stupid and irresponsible.

 

[SomeRandom]

Question....
If you don't vote, & they fine you, this suggests
that you need some proof of having voted.
Do they require ID, so that you can't just hire
someone to vote for you?

Hmmm....if we had such a law here, that would
be even more racist than requiring ID. Why?
Poor folk wouldn't be able to easily get to polls,
& could ill afford to spend the time waiting.
(We're a very poor & suffering country, ya know.)

I don’t need ID to vote, actually. I just show up, give my info, my name gets ticked off and I don’t get a fine. Anything I do after that is entirely my choice. If I want to vote I vote, if I don’t, that’s my business not the Government’s.
Only thing which would disqualify me is if I were an illegal alien or if I had committed a very grave crime.
But I’m a tax paying citizen so, I show up to the polls.

 

[Aupmanyav]

In India a person has to be registered with the election office to be able to vote. Registration can be done till about a month before voting. For a registered person any government photo-bearing ID will do. People are encouraged to vote, it is considered a national duty, but if a person does not vote or registers a 'no-vote', it is his choice. There is no fine involved.

Elections in India are a big thing. In the 2019 General Election, there were 911 million voters of whom 67% voted.The Election Commission in India is an independent statuary body. It deployed a total of 1.74 million voter-verified paper audit trail (VVPAT) units and 3.96 million electronic voting machines (EVM) in 1,035,918 polling stations.Polling is videographed in sensitive polling booths.

Approximately 270,000 paramilitary and 2 million state police personnel provided organisational support and security at various polling booths. Maintaining peace is a big problem in Indian elections. It was a 7-phased election in 2019, but the results were available in just one day. Hourly voting percentage is available to media on the day of voting as well as on the day when the results are announced. There were a total of 650 political parties and 8039 candidates for 542 seats of the parliament.

It is mandatory to have a polling station within 500 meters for each voter, even if the the polling party had to travel 2 days in forests to allow just one person to vote. For example, the polling party traveled 70 kms in the Gujarat lion reserve so that one person, priest Bharat Das, could vote.
When Election Commission set up a polling booth for Gir Forest's only resident - You think there's no point in voting? | The Economic Times

 

[Stevicus]

Wow. You know for a country that boasts freedom and democracy, you guys certainly seem to have a lot of hoops you force your citizens to jump through. No offence

I think a lot of people have grown somewhat disaffected and apathetic to the point where the majority simply don't care about election outcomes. They figure they're screwed no matter which party is in power and that there's nothing they can do about it. It's kind of sad, in a way, but many Americans are resigned to it.

The turnout at the last election was larger than past elections, though, so maybe more Americans will put more effort into voting in future elections. I hope it turns out to be a trend in the right direction.

I'd also like to see more Americans vote for third parties and break the stranglehold of the major political parties.

 

[Stevicus]

Yeah we can just put in an empty ballot if we don’t want to vote. Or scrawl a nasty message on the paper. As long as you show up and get your name ticked off, it’s all good And you get a free sausage sizzle. At least where I live

A free sausage sizzle? No bacon?

 

[SomeRandom]

A free sausage sizzle? No bacon?

Lol we’re not cunuckistan

 

[SomeRandom]

I think a lot of people have grown somewhat disaffected and apathetic to the point where the majority simply don't care about election outcomes. They figure they're screwed no matter which party is in power and that there's nothing they can do about it. It's kind of sad, in a way, but many Americans are resigned to it.

The turnout at the last election was larger than past elections, though, so maybe more Americans will put more effort into voting in future elections. I hope it turns out to be a trend in the right direction.

I'd also like to see more Americans vote for third parties and break the stranglehold of the major political parties.

I’d head that it was more of a vote for “not Trump.”
Ngl, if that were my option I’d vote against him too. And I don’t care about politics

 

[We Never Know]

Lots of these don't actually need ID at all, but for those that do, which of them need the sorts of photo ID required in, say, Georgia?


Georgia Voter Identification Requirements2 | Elections

And now keep in mind:

- 3 out of the 6 ID types (gov't employee ID, military ID, & tribal ID) don't apply to most citizens.
- most Americans don't have passports, especially people who can't afford to travel.
- people who have a disability that prevents them from driving can't get driver's licenses.

I have no problems with those ID's. At least they have the name and a picture.

 

[We Never Know]

But it's not about what you are for or against. It's about every citizen having the right and the ability to vote. This is why in the past the obligation has always been on the state to provide access. To maintain the list of eligible citizens, and to have those lists at their respective polling places ready to be signed off as the citizens show up to vote. It has never been the citizen's obligation to establish his/her eligibility to vote. It has been and still is the state's obligation to do so.

AND there is no evidence that there is any need whatever for the citizens to be burdened with this obligation, now. The state is perfectly capable of maintaining an accurate list of all eligible voters in each voting precinct, as it has always done.

Without a picture ID they have no clue who you are.

 

[9-10ths_Penguin]

I have no problems with those ID's. At least they have the name and a picture.

I didn't ask you what you have a problem with. I asked you if voter ID requirements are anything like the examples you listed.

 

[We Never Know]

I didn't ask you what you have a problem with. I asked you if voter ID requirements are anything like the examples you listed.

Voter Identification Requirements in Each State 2020

This November, 34 states will require voters to show identification at the polls in order to cast a ballot on Election Day.

Voter ID laws come in four categories: photo and non-photo, and strict and non-strict.

States with photo ID requirements mandate voters to bring a state-issued driver's license, non-driver ID or voter card, US passport, or a military, tribal, student, or state employee card to the polls in order to vote. Most states have exemptions to these rules for voters who cannot be photographed due to their religious beliefs.

Non-photo ID states allow voters to bring official government mailings or other recent documents that bear the voter's name and address, like a utility or rent bill, pay-stub, or bank statement.

Non-strict states allow voters without the required documentation to cast a sworn affidavit or reasonable impediment declaration or to have a poll worker vouch for them in order to vote, while strict states require voters to cast a provisional ballot and later provide additional proof of residency to their election officials in order for their vote to count.

Different states have varying requirements on whether a photo ID must be current or if it can be expired in order to be used to vote, so be sure to both verify the exact requirements with your state and local election offices and check if your state's Registry of Motor Vehicles has extended the expiration deadlines for licenses or ID cards during the pandemic.

 

[9-10ths_Penguin]

Voter Identification Requirements in Each State 2020

This November, 34 states will require voters to show identification at the polls in order to cast a ballot on Election Day.

Voter ID laws come in four categories: photo and non-photo, and strict and non-strict.

States with photo ID requirements mandate voters to bring a state-issued driver's license, non-driver ID or voter card, US passport, or a military, tribal, student, or state employee card to the polls in order to vote. Most states have exemptions to these rules for voters who cannot be photographed due to their religious beliefs.

Non-photo ID states allow voters to bring official government mailings or other recent documents that bear the voter's name and address, like a utility or rent bill, pay-stub, or bank statement.

Non-strict states allow voters without the required documentation to cast a sworn affidavit or reasonable impediment declaration or to have a poll worker vouch for them in order to vote, while strict states require voters to cast a provisional ballot and later provide additional proof of residency to their election officials in order for their vote to count.

Different states have varying requirements on whether a photo ID must be current or if it can be expired in order to be used to vote, so be sure to both verify the exact requirements with your state and local election offices and check if your state's Registry of Motor Vehicles has extended the expiration deadlines for licenses or ID cards during the pandemic.

All interesting, but how about answering the question?

 

[PureX]

Without a picture ID they have no clue who you are.

For over 200 years they have had no picture IDs. The poll workers simply asked us who we are, and we signed our names. And so far there has been no 'impersonations' because there has never been any reason for anyone to do so. So why is there any reason. now?

I am not against people having IDs. Or being asked for them. I am against people being forced to endure special difficulties to get them. If the state wants us all to have IDs. The state should provide them freely, and conveniently. And as for polling, I just don't see the need for all this difficulty, except that republicans want to deny certain factions of the public their right to vote. Which is obscenely offensive, and should be fought against by all of us.

 

[We Never Know]

For over 200 years they have had no picture IDs. The poll workers simply asked us who we are, and we signed our names. And so far there has been no 'impersonations' because there has never been any reason for anyone to do so. So why is there any reason. now?

I am not against people having IDs. Or being asked for them. I am against people being forced to endure special difficulties to get them. If the state wants us all to have IDs. The state should provide them freely, and conveniently. And as for polling, I just don't see the need for all this difficulty, except that republicans want to deny certain factions of the public their right to vote. Which is obscenely offensive, and should be fought against by all of us.

The party's didn't used to be as crooked and corrupt as they are now either.

 

[PureX]

The party's didn't used to be as crooked and corrupt as they are now either.

Parties may be more crooked, but people generally aren't. Because voting under other people's names simply is not happening.

 

[InChrist]

To get these IDs requires documents that older people, and poorer people will have difficulty gaining access to. And getting them costs money that they may not have. So does getting around to the various offices required to get the ID.

When I moved from Illinois to Pennsylvania almost 20 years ago, getting a PA driver's license (even though I already had an Illinois license) was a major ordeal involving tracking down and obtaining my original birth certificate, social security certificate, and others. (They would not accept a photocopy.) It was expensive and time-consuming and humiliating having to stand in lines and debate with useless bureaucrats trying to get them to do their job and produce the necessary documents. It was an ordeal that old people, teenagers, and poor people would have great difficulty getting through.

I’ve moved from one state to another a few times and changing one’s identification information is simply common procedure. Sure it’s a hassle, but a lot of things in life are. Nevertheless, it’s a basic reality of living in this world.
You and many others talk like poor people or minorities are incompetent and unable to figure out how to do something as basic as getting ID. That really comes across as ignorant, if not outright arrogant and racist.

 

[PureX]

I’ve moved from one state to another a few times and changing one’s identification information is simply common procedure. Sure it’s a hassle, but a lot of things in life are. Nevertheless, it’s a basic reality of living in this world.
You and many others talk like poor people or minorities are incompetent and unable to figure out how to do something as basic as getting ID. That really comes across as ignorant, if not outright arrogant and racist.

It's the reason the republicans are doing this. THAT'S racist, and anti-democratic.

And anyway, you've missed the point. Just because the world is inconvenient doesn't excuse the government from adding to it unjustly, and unnecessarily. It is a primary obligation of our government to provide for every citizen's right to vote. It is NOT the citizens obligation to prove himself worthy of that right.