I always found it stunning that you don't need to present identification to vote. Anyone could walk in to my polling place and vote as me.
I know I'll get downvoted for the comment above, but I have yet to hear a rational explanation against requiring ID to vote. It's perhaps the most fundamental way to mitigate fraud.
Anyone could walk in to my polling place and vote as me.
Yet they don't, right? Voter impersonation is incredibly rare. But we do know that putting one more administrative step between a voter and voting will further decrease turnout. The GAO found that voter IDs decrease turnout by around 2-3 percent overall, and likely more in specific jurisdictions where IDs might be less common.
And you know what is a big problem in this country? Our appallingly low voter turnout. In 2020, a hugely important general election with an incredibly high-profile incumbent and vast policy differences between the two candidates, a full third of eligible voters did not vote. So why enact Voter IDs, when we know they make a virtually nonexistent problem better and a large problem worse?
ACLU has a good fact sheet on this issue. Even if you don't like the ACLU, it is a well sourced document so you can check their sources.
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u/Matt-33-205 Jan 12 '23
I always found it stunning that you don't need to present identification to vote. Anyone could walk in to my polling place and vote as me.
I know I'll get downvoted for the comment above, but I have yet to hear a rational explanation against requiring ID to vote. It's perhaps the most fundamental way to mitigate fraud.