The USA has one of the biggest and most convoluted systems of government in the world, one of the only few where people actually need lawyers to navigate it.
The states certifying their own elections is the next convoluted system in the way of unrestrained tyranny, after states controlling identity verification.
Government getting in the way is useful when it impedes other parts of government.
We're definitely going in the wrong direction, but it's been slower than Russia, Turkey, Austria, and others which are following well-worn paths. And the consequences for the world are so much worse if it happens in America.
>The states certifying their own elections is the next convoluted system in the way of unrestrained tyranny, after states controlling identity verification.
And what stops the US from mandating that States provide their citizens with a universal ID of an agreed form? Just like with the elections?
Passport card can be revoked over fairly small amounts of late child support which applies to a surprisingly large portion of America, particularly historically oppressed minorities. It would be quite foolish to rely on that for identification if you have children as a simple divorce could put you in instant arrears and cause you to lose your ID.
>Passport card can be revoked over fairly small amounts of late child support
This is clearly ridiculous and not in any way connected to the reason passports exist. It's just purely bureaucratic tyranny.
Even the stated goal of "preventing people from running away to other countries" doesn't work, because the USA doesn't have border service check the passport _on leaving_ the country.
There is no check on leaving, and our neighbor Mexico not only usually doesn't check, it's constitution* explicitly prohibits requiring passports for entry. And when you return US has to take you back, if citizen, passport or not. So you can easily go to and from Mexico without passport.
Virtually every time I go to Mexico, I'm one of very small % with passport going either direction.
* This is debated and some questionable court cases that actually protected rights of indigenous Mexicans to travel are cited as reasons why this constitutional provision isn't in effect (even though the case was clearly written to protect indigenous rather than justify overthrowing the constitution), but go to a land border with Mexico and 9 of 10 times I find they follow the constitution and don't check passport.
Not asking whether "reducing state capacity" helps with that. Asking how's that "reducing" going.