[deadmetheny]

The USA is one of the few countries in the world that doesn't require an ID to vote. I'm continually astounded by the fact that people consider that having some sort of identification, which most functioning adults ought to have anyway, is some sort of horrifying oppression.

[dragonwriter]

> The USA is one of the few countries in the world that doesn't require an ID to vote.

It's also one of the few that doesn't have compulsory universal uniform national (or even state) ID. Oddly, the same faction that is up in arms about voter ID is also dedicated to avoiding compulsory national/state ID.

If we had compulsory universal ID with the supportive policies necessary to avoid that becoming an unreasonable burden on the poor, or selected political groups or racial minorities, voter ID would be a non-problem. As it is, it's a problematic mechanism which is publicly sold as solving something which is a non-problem to all evidence, and has on multiple occasions been privately admitted by it's backers (and subsequentlt revealed) to be actually motivated by partisan interest and racial animus, in both cases being about keeping disfavored eligible voters from voting.

[notfromhere]

Because it can be used to disenfranchise voters.

When Alabama enacted voter ID, it simultaneously shut down DMV offices in counties with the most potential black voters.

Or like in Texas where student IDs are specifically prohibited from being used for voting, even though gun permits are, in order to suppress student turnout.

Or in North Dakota, where voter laws were changed to suppress Native Americans from voting using tribal IDs.

[ArchTypical]

> Because it can be used to disenfranchise voters.

So can knives.

> When Alabama enacted voter ID, it simultaneously shut down DMV offices in counties with the most potential black voters.

Most of these problems are now mitigated by years of not needing ID. Now we have voter registration mailouts and such. Don't just throw away a good idea because of past abuse. We strive to be better. Giving up is regressive.

[dragonwriter]

> Don't just throw away a good idea because of past abuse.

The specific (Alabama) “past abuse” referred to by the grandparent was in 2011-2015, not some distant time where there has been intervening radical change in the political culture that would render it irrelevant.

> Don't just throw away a good idea

The whole idea was voter suppression. There is no good idea associated with Voter ID laws in the United States. People involved in them this decade have admitted the racial and partisan purpose (usually, when they thought only members of their race and party were around, obviously.)

[ArchTypical]

> The whole idea was voter suppression.

The whole idea was for some people.

> There is no good idea associated with Voter ID laws in the United States

I disagree. Voting accountability is treated seriously in every state I've resided.