• prole@lemmy.blahaj.zone
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    4 days ago

    Are people really not aware of the issues with voter ID laws? Do we really need to go over this basic shit again?

    • Dr. Moose@lemmy.world
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      4 days ago

      What are these issues? Every other country in the world ids voters.

      I’m not Trump fan by any means but it’s hard to argue against voter ID. Americans in general seem to live in 3rd world when it comes to IDs with your social security number shit etc.

      • Cryophilia@lemmy.world
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        4 days ago

        We had a whole civil rights movement about it. Jim Crow. MLK Jr. The laws are specifically intended to apply selective enforcement. That is their entire purpose. Why do you think these laws are always proposed by Republicans?

      • Flic@mstdn.social
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        4 days ago

        @drmoose @prole The UK only just brought it in a few years ago, against the advice of the Elec Commission as we don’t really have any fraud and we don’t have universal ID cards so it’s complicated to know what you’d need to bring. Mostly it’s passports or driving licences which relies on people having the cash to drive or travel, and their name matching the voter roll. If someone is turned away for not having ID they might not come back.

        • Dr. Moose@lemmy.world
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          4 days ago

          Maybe its time to join the 21st century and issue citizen ids?

          No wonder identity theft and scams are so rampant in the US.

          • 13igTyme@lemmy.world
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            4 days ago

            We have citizen IDs. If you really don’t understand the issue. Open a history book. I’ll even give you a starting point. Read about Jim Crow laws.

            • Dr. Moose@lemmy.world
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              4 days ago

              Nah that’s not a justification. Just fix your country instead of running away from your problems. Seriously americans are spineless as fuck.

          • Flic@mstdn.social
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            4 days ago

            @drmoose it was discussed in the 00s (in the UK!) but was massively polarising and got dropped. People didn’t like the idea of having to carry something that proved who they are.

            • Dr. Moose@lemmy.world
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              4 days ago

              That’s just crazy to me. How can society function when people are afraid to identify themselves to officials they should be trusting and relying on.

                  • Cryophilia@lemmy.world
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                    4 days ago

                    ID is one tool by which they selectively allow or suppress voting. ID laws are not the root cause, but it’s ridiculous to suggest giving the fascists another tool to use.

              • Flic@mstdn.social
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                4 days ago

                @drmoose dunno, we have a strong tradition of petty bureaucratic jobsworths who take rule-following too far, and also a nasty history of over-policing protests.

      • prole@lemmy.blahaj.zone
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        4 days ago

        In person voter fraud is so statistically inconsequential that it might as well not exist. The idea that this is meant to prevent voter fraud is preposterous. It’s just pretense.

        All this does is create more hurdles for people who already have difficulty voting from decades of disenfranchisement. It’s the goal of these laws, and Republican politicians have literally admitted it.

        How do you get an ID if you don’t have an address? They can’t win with policy, and high voter turnout always means the results skew left, so they focus on stopping people of certain demographics from voting altogether.

        • Dr. Moose@lemmy.world
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          4 days ago

          It’s not about voting fraud but your entire culture being so crippled by fear that you avoid basic societal structures that are accepted as a net positive literally everywhere else. Maybe it’s time to stand up for yourself?

          • prole@lemmy.blahaj.zone
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            3 days ago

            Yeah you’re right, I should have realized and done something about that sooner. Thank God you were here to tell me.

      • TheHiddenCatboy@lemmy.world
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        4 days ago

        It really depends on what the purpose of voter ID is.

        If it’s to ensure that everyone that is entitled to vote votes once and only once, you’ll see some key properties. It’ll be free and easy to get. Applying for it is as simple as applying to vote (which itself will be easy to do), and it’ll be virtually automatic that you get it. In many cases, it’ll arrive unannounced as the Government already knows everything it needs to get you this card, and you won’t have to do anything but show up at the polls election day with the card they gave you.

        If it’s to ensure that only ‘desirable’ voters can vote, it’ll have other key properties. Getting it will be as easy as the above if you’re the preferred class. But if you’re the undesirable class of voter, getting it will have more hassles than its worth. It’ll cost money. It’ll have onerous requirements. It’ll take you lots of time, and require transportation. It’ll be designed to discourage you from voting. Because that’s the goal. Onerous enough that you give up and let your betters rule you like God intended.

        Can you guess what the United States’ goal with voter ID is? Here’s a hint. We have a long history of treating certain groups of people like crap, and despite 1865’s end of the Civil War, there are STILL people who would rather see Black people in chains and treated like animals.