“You must be a legal resident of Iowa and the precinct you live in and bring a photo ID with you to participate,” the state Republican party said on Friday in a post on the social media platform X.
The party is scheduled to hold local gatherings, known as the Iowa Caucus, on Jan. 15 in which participants will vote for their choice for the Republican candidate to run in November’s presidential election. U.S. President Joe Biden is expected to be the Democratic Party’s nominee.
The state Republican Party posted its reminder after Casey DeSantis, appearing on Fox News with her husband, the governor of Florida, called on women from across the country to join the gatherings, saying, “You do not have to be a resident of Iowa to participate."
Shitty that they have to bring photo ID, which poorer people disproportionately do not have.
As a non American it’s kinda wild that
A: you don’t need ID to vote
B: not everyone has ID, like, how do you get a bank account or drive or go to school or change a cheque or get benefits or buy beer or anything?
C: getting an ID is so difficult that requiring one is controversial.
ID is not issued by the federal government. It’s typically issued at the state level. As far as the bank account goes, most poor Americans are locked out of the banking system. Many poor Americans cannot afford a car. Etc…
Here’s a brief summary of the physical and financial obstacles. https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/research-reports/challenge-obtaining-voter-identification
All this shit adds up. Then you have to understand the same people who have to jump through all these hoops for an ID likely have to way half a day in line to vote. The same people pushing for voter ID laws in the US are closing polling places in these people’s neighborhoods to make it even more difficult. These are people who can’t afford to take half a day to get ID or another half a day to wait in line to vote. Because the if they miss work they’ll lose their job or be unable to make rent for the month.
People on the left are not opposed to voter ID requirements, we’re opposed to implementing more burdens on people who already struggle with the logistics of voting.
Make the required identification 100% free and cover the costs of any documents and time needed to get it and I’m all for it. But barriers for legitimate voters are antidemocratic and a very dark part of US history.
ID is not required in my State. If you don’t have ID, you can sign a sworn affidavit saying who you are and they have to let you vote with that.
Government needs to be able to trust the sworn statements of citizens, absent some articulable evidence why it should not be trusted. There should be no penalty for not having ID, if you don’t have an ID and your affidavit is perjurious, the penalty still isn’t not voting, it’s a criminal charge for offering a false instrument; even if there is a state law on such ballot fraud, the penalty still isnt, like, recounting the vote and subtracting one (unless it’s caught before it’s certified), it’s the criminal charge. Elections need to be short and sweet with a clear end result.
Some places hold a perfectly valid election and you don’t even have to give your name, just show your finger, vote, and then dip your finger in a jar of ink on your way out.
Elections are not meant to be perfect and expecting perfection makes you a mark for election lies.
If voting day were a holiday it wouldn’t be nearly as contraversial to require IDs, especially if ID offices were open those days.
As a non-us Citizen: why? Do you have to pay to get an ID?
In my state, it’s $10 for a non-driver state issued ID card. However, the offices you need to visit in person have limited days and hours that they are open, meaning some people can’t afford to take the time off of work to do so.
If for some reason they don’t already have supporting identifying documents like a social security card, it could take multiple steps and visits.
Minor fees for some. It’s often the paperwork, time, proof of id, and locations that become the barrier. We don’t have national IDs here, but use a stupid Social Security Number that was never designed for the purpose and is literally sequential at birth. This makes proof of identity a task.
It was almost $40 just to renew my DL in my county. I swear it wasn’t as much in the last county I lived in, but it was just insane.
There’s usually discount programs for low-income folks, but the interesting part is needing proof of being low-income. Sometimes homeless shelters will transport people and help them fill out the paperwork and they have vouchers for the fee.
It’s crazy that all of that is needed when every data broker and arm of the government knows what you had for breakfast yesterday, but you still have to jump through this many hoops yourself to get something with your name on it.
While I 100% agree with you, it’s important to note that states with ID requirements typically have voter ID cards that are free.
DL fees are separate from “ID fees.”
Generally, yes. And sometimes you need an address, so it’s more difficult if you’re homeless
Because rich people don’t want to pay any taxes.