Joe Manchin says he wants a national voter ID

[UCmeNdc]

You know what? I agree with him. Democratic party should tell the Republican Party yes there should be a national voter ID. This ID should be given automatically without any cost to the voter once they register to vote. The ID should be standardized for all states. Once the voter has their valid ID no one should be allowed to challenge their right to vote. The ID upon presentation says they are eligible to vote.
Then all the Democratic party has to do is make sure their voters are registered and the system issued them their free national voters ID card. Republicans then will have nothing to complain about.

Link to tweet

[Tree Lady]

1. I agree make it easy to get

If it makes republicans feel better then go for it.

[TheBlackAdder]

9. Exactly, socialize the entire project so states can not interfere or fuck with voter applications.

.

This should be entirely funded through the government with case workers in each state to facilitate registration.

On top of that, there should be mobile registration services that travel to rural towns.


In many of these GOP states, people have to take a day off work to commute to a regional single facility to register. When they get there, they are conveniently told there is a documentation issue and send them home. When they return again, the pull the same shit--so the people give up.


It could also be part of the SSA services, as they already have and manage your SSN. Or offer these services in the USPS.


Just spitballing here. The current 50-state process of unique registrations is a solution that is not working.

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[Crunchy Frog]

20. It won't make them feel any better, but go for it anyway.

[patphil]

2. I think that's the best answer to the Republican attack on voting rights.

Let every adult US citizen be issued a national voter ID card for free by the Federal Government.
Any bets on whether or not the Republicans will think this is a good idea?

[TheBlackAdder]

12. Our SSNs were never meant for anything else but Social Security, but it's now a government ID number

.

If the SSN is required for pretty much any state and federal form, apparently that works well enough.

The Republicans push for photo ID, when getting a driver's license just requires 3 pieces of non-Photo ID and your SSN.

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[Bleacher Creature]

3. Then it needs to be free and easy to get one.

IIRC, when Wisconsin required a voter ID it suddenly became really hard to get one in places like Milwaukee. If you can get a passport by mail, you should be able to get a voter ID as well. Otherwise, it just becomes the equivalent of a poll tax.

If that becomes the price of Manchin agreeing to nuke the filibuster for voting rights legislation, and he builds those protections into the bill, I'd be supportive.

[SheltieLover]

4. Who is going to provide transportation & appointments so voters are not waiting all day?

And voter registration should be automatic!

Also, a drivers license or passport should suffice!

[Hoyt]

5. It would end the lies about unregistered people voting. I do think Driver's Licenses should be OK.

But people without a D License should have plenty of time to a voter ID. Evidence of residence and citizenship should include lots of documents.

Probably shouldn't apply to next election. There must be adequate ways for everyone to get one, including mobile units for disabled.

Churches, etc., should be able to take bus loads of people to get an ID.

[UCmeNdc]

26. Agree. Upon registering the government should automatically provide the voter ID free of charge.

Right away. It should be issued to the voter immediately upon completion of registration. For all of the voters that are already registered and can vote, the government should automatically send them their voter ID card and check to see if the voter has received it. Once this voter has their ID card in hand no one should be allowed to challenge their right to vote.

The Republicans should be happy with this idea.

[dsc]

6. Honestly we are going to have to go with this

but there are some details that need to be thought about. One, there are still a non trivial number of elderly Black citizens who can't get IDs due to record keeping during the Jim Crow era. Two, transgender people often can't get IDs which bear their new names. Those problems have to be taken care of.

[Mad_Machine76]

8. +1

[David__77]

7. Fine if there are national voter rights.

Further, it needs portability and homeless people need to be able to use it.

[WhiskeyGrinder]

10. No.

[jaysunb]

11. This idea has some great possibilities, including mail

Or computer voting.

[TheBlackAdder]

13. With all of the computer fraud and back-level operating systems, IDK about that, but...

.

Just like when someone dies, their SSN is sent in and their bank accounts are immediately frozen, so will their voter registration.


It does have positive benefits to Republicans:

1) This might actually prevent some Republicans from going to jail when they vote for their dead mother or father, because "that's what they would have wanted" bullshit.

2) They won't be able to vote in two different states or voting districts.

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[EndlessWire]

14. I don't agree.

The stumbling blocks that can be put in front of this idea will not be worth it. All of a sudden, people who have voted for years will be required to prove their birthright, their naturalization, and anything else that the Repubs will put in front of them. Do you recall how the trump Administration wanted to reach back through years of naturalization of immigrants in order to deny them citizenship? What if someone like Trump comes back into office?

It would be one step closer to "Show me your papers." You'll be a native citizen and have to prove your identity. We already have those passport issues between states. This is not the way to go.

VOTE THESE BASTARDS OUT OF OFFICE! If you love your country, or just want to experience FREEDOM, then vote anything titled Repub OUT. OF. OFFICE.

[OnDoutside]

21. It's certainly an argument I've seen made in many countries but then a lot of countries have some

form of National ID card eg France, Italy etc, and the usually it is optional & free. And that's probably the key to this, a lot of people have driving licenses and passports, but a lot of poor people don't, so create a Nationally accepted ID Card that is optional and won't cost them anything to get.

[crickets]

24. Agreed and thank you, EndlessWire.

Democrats have fought against a national ID for decades for reasons of privacy in addition to those you've stated.

Anybody remember Bob Barr? Even he agreed with the ACLU that national IDs were not a good thing.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bob_Barr
https://www.aclu.org/press-releases/aclu-announces-collaboration-rep-bob-barr-says-conservative-congressman-will-consult

The dramatic advances in computing technology over even just the past decade mean that the government has much more power today in collecting, storing, and analyzing information about all of us. A national ID system, especially if linked with other government databases, can paint a picture in fine-grained detail about where we go, who we talk to, where we worship, and where we stand on sensitive political issues, among many other sensitive data points.

As a nation, we live by the principle that the government should not be able to collect such information without cause. A national ID system turns that fundamental principle on its head. We must continue to support basic freedoms and protect against our becoming a country where the government can demand, “Papers, please.”

REAL ID still got rammed through and is bad enough, and you folks want to volunteer for another form of national ID?

Getting a card would not stop any of the vote suppression idiocy going on now; it would just add another hurdle to the pile that it already too high.

No. Just no.

[flotsam]

15. Fine-

Make it free and voluntary

Make it biometric so lost ID presents no problem

Include vaccine status


Guess who will show up at polls without the ID?

[NightWatcher]

16. Plus, some rw evilgelicals will refuse the "mark of the beast" and this won't be able to vote.

We could even make it a Real ID and put their vaccination information on it.

[karynnj]

17. Totally agree

After it starts, it could become a rite of passage that everyone gets this ID on their 18th birthday.

[JI7]

18. How about automatically giving it when they turn 18 or become a citizen

if they were not born here ?

[Crunchy Frog]

19. I agree. It's the standardization and straightforward process

that's important. So that individual states can't pick and choose based on what type of ID members of different races are more or less likely to have, and they can't make it prohibitively difficult or expensive to obtain.

[Binkie The Clown]

22. National Vote By Mail. It works fine here in Oregon. nt

[mcar]

23. Suspend the filibuster for the For the People

and John Lewis acts, Joe, and you can have national voter ID, under those circumstances - free to everyone, no hassle to get one.

[crickets]

25. Gee, I wonder where Joe Manchin got this idea.

Did he really just think of it all of a sudden, all on his own? No way he could have gotten the suggestion from those across the aisle he's trying so hard to please... could he?

eta
From the Huffpo article linked in the OP:

Further deepening the dilemma, Manchin’s national voter ID proposal contains little to no information on what exactly it is. His compromise list simply states: “Require voter ID with allowable alternatives (utility bill, etc.) to prove identity to vote.”

I don't know about other states, but that's what GA has right now. So, what's the problem?

Beginning in 2005, states run by Republicans began to adopt more restrictive forms of identification; these efforts soon accelerated. Following the Supreme Court’s ruling in Shelby County v. Holder that gutted the Voting Rights Act, the number of states adopting restrictive ID laws, particularly restrictive photo ID laws, increased dramatically.

A restrictive identification law is one that requires photo identification, places strict limitations on the types of identification accepted at the polls and imposes limits on how a voter can still vote without the required photo identification. The most restrictive laws are those that do not provide any means for voters who lack the required identification to otherwise identify themselves and cast a ballot.

Republicans pushing restrictive voter ID laws claim to do so to counter election fraud. There is, however, no evidence of widespread voter fraud in contemporary U.S. elections.

Sounds like Voter ID would be a great way for Repubs to get everyone to volunteer for the restrictive identification they're currently trying to impose in legislation state by state. What a great way to save them time any money and make it even more difficult to vote. Madness.

[UCmeNdc]

27. Think about it. It will not be restrictive if the Democratic Party opens it up.

The Democratic Party has to set the rules in play. Make it a standardized ID card available to each and every voter upon registering to vote. The Republicans want to have individual state governments to control the issuing of the voter ID cards. The Republicans want, no standard method on how a voter can get his ID card. The Republicans want to make it expensive to get a voter ID card. That is why Republicans want a voter ID so bad. Republicans do not want to let it be a standardize process. republicans do not want free, automatically issued to every registered voter ID cards. Republicans do not want the ID to automatically guarantee you are registered and can vote no matter what upon presentation of the ID card when challenged by anyone on election day.

[Captain Zero]

28. In same bill make the winner of the presidential election the winner of the national popular vote

And abolish the electoral college. One person one vote, nationwide.

[DFW]

29. Well, FINALLY

Years ago, at a political forum in the USA, people were giving suggestions on improving voter registration and making the rules less cumbersome.

I said how's this for easy: if you are a citizen of the United States, you can vote. Period. You're an American citizen? THERE'S your registration.

I got a round of applause for it, but the ears that counted were, as usual, deaf.

[alphafemale]

30. I am in favor of a photo ID

It just needs to be easy to obtain.

A DL or a photo ID supplied by the DMV is difficult just because those offices are often nearly impossible to get to because of the far flung locations and hours.

I did have some fun with suggesting I would assist in getting black and brown people without a DL a Concealed Weapon Permit since those were easier to get and a valid Voter ID.

I was joking but it is also a legitimate suggestion.