[swiftcoder]

> I'm not sure what's a mess about a driver's license, social security card

Neither of those are accepted by various states' voter id laws, nor can you reliably board an airplane with them since RealID.

The only foolproof identity card in the US appears to be a passport (which, you know, global federal identity card... exactly what the folks against universal ids dislike)

[bix6]

My drivers license is a real id and has been for like 5 years? This is a non issue if you went to the DMV instead of waiting until now.

[mothballed]

DHS's own testimony that they've successfully gotten warrants issued on the basis of, is that real id is not realiable.

[mullingitover]

A Real ID isn’t reliable proof of citizenship.

[mullingitover]

To clarify: in a number of states a Real ID doesn't include a citizenship indicator, and a Real ID in those states is not sufficient identification for voting purposes.

For the majority of existing Real IDs, they will not be valid proof of eligibility to vote.[1]

> While your REAL ID would count as a photo ID when voting, in only a few states would it be considered proof of citizenship. Only five states — Michigan, Minnesota, New York, Vermont and Washington — offer the type of enhanced REAL IDs that explicitly indicate U.S. citizenship.

> Outside of those states, you would need another document to prove you were born in the U.S.

[1] https://thehill.com/homenews/nexstar_media_wire/5787733-woul...

[jasonlotito]

> This is a non issue if you went to the DMV instead of waiting until now.

This is incorrect. RealID is optional on DLs. Assuming modern DLs are all RealIDs is wrong.

[bix6]

Well it’d be pretty time wastey to not get a real ID when they’ve been screaming about it for what a decade now?

[otterley]

My research suggests that all U.S. states that require identification at the polls accept a driving license as a form of valid photo ID. Are you aware of any that don’t?

[5upplied_demand]

> My research suggests that all U.S. states that require identification at the polls accept a driving license as a form of valid photo ID.

Not today. However, there is a bill in the Senate, that the President is demanding to be passed, that would eliminate this reality.

https://www.usatoday.com/story/graphics/2026/03/17/save-amer...

[jp191919]

>Records from a federal citizenship verification tool show that just 0.04% of voter verification cases were returned as noncitizens in August 2025.

Seems like this is just one of those "feel-good" laws. A waste of time and money.

[gzread]

It's not about eliminating voter fraud - it appears to be about eliminating large swathes of legitimate voters, largely in correlation with how they are expected to vote.

[pessimizer]

> Neither of those are accepted by various states' voter id laws

You've made this up.

> nor can you reliably board an airplane with them since RealID.

That sounds like a problem that they created, and can choose to uncreate. I don't need to know the identity of people on planes any more than I need to know the identity of people in trains, buses, or taxis. "RealID" itself is dumb, and was the result of wearing down popular resistance for decades.

[hedora]

The federal government is trying to create problems. For instance, a Real ID won't be good enough to vote this fall if SAVE passes:

https://www.politifact.com/factchecks/2025/apr/18/byron-dona...

There are also a bunch of other gotchas: Original birth certificates and all currently-issued military IDs are not acceptable, for instance (even though the bill lists birth certificates and military IDs as acceptable, there are carve-outs to ban the common cases).

Good luck getting a passport between now and then.

[rickydroll]

> The federal government is trying to create problems.

All of the voter ID requirements in the SAVE Act are conservative wet dreams To deny undesirable populations the right to vote. see: https://fairelectionscenter.org/advocacy/save-act-2025/

Wikipedia has a great list of current and past methods of voter suppression. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Voter_suppression_in_the_Unite...

[hattmall]

To be clear, it's not required to vote. It's required for a new registration to vote. Which is typically done when you get a new ID, which already requires having those documents, more even because you have to show proof of current residence.

[mothballed]

In my state you can only get an ID mailed, and it has to be mailed to your primary residence. Except the mail doesn't go to many primary residences. The USPS straight up refuses to mine and gets real nasty if you ask them to, as they ask for made up paperwork requirements (certificate of occupancy) that isn't even issued for some houses in my county (this paper only needed if you want to follow certain increased scrutiny building options and plan on getting a mortgage, in my case there is no legal way for me to get one). Now if you're actually homeless you can use a shelter as a legal residence for your ID, but if you have a real legal residence USPS refuses to then you are shit out of luck.

A couple decades ago they used to print the ID then and there, IDs were far more accessible back then. For some god forsaken reason they stopped that most everywhere.

[5upplied_demand]

So there is no problem to solve?

[otterley]

What do you think the problem to solve is? Please use quantitative data in your answer.

[5upplied_demand]

I don't think there is any problem to solve, that was my point. It is already illegal to vote as a non-citizen.