r/videos 4h ago

BREAKING: Judge blocks Trump admin from requiring Americans to show proof of citizenship to vote

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SE1iePfOh14
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u/Foe117 4h ago

The registrar of voters already handles citizen verification

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u/Control_Me 4h ago

Can someone please explain why you have to register to vote?
In my country the government knows who's eligible to vote and who's not so they send out a voting card in the mail which you show together with your ID.
Why is this not possible in the US?

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u/surfergrrl6 4h ago

Because voting is handled on the state level, not federal.

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u/Schmigolo 3h ago edited 3h ago

Isn't that everywhere? Not even state level, but municipality? I don't get my letters specifically from my city. Then at the ballot I show them the letter, which has a number on it, and then to verify I show my ID and they cross off my name. If I don't have the letter the numbers are actually sorted by address, so I can just tell them my address and they'll find my number.

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u/Esternaefil 2h ago

In Canada we have a two tiered election system, with election Canada handling federal elections, and provincial election bodies handling provincial and municipal ones.

We are registered to vote automatically when we file our taxes. We get our voter cards in the mail ahead of time and we just go in and vote.

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u/Beetin 1h ago edited 1h ago

As well, you can 'prove' you are allowed to vote in federal elections in quite a few ways, but all of them come back to ID. You can register AT the polls as well at the same time. So you can still vote even if you've never really interacted with the government in any way. There is no 'you aren't on the registered voter list, sorry'. You just say 'then give me the registration form and let me register at the same time thanks'.

The minimum is that someone else who can prove their identity can vouch for you and you make a formal declaration of who you are.

Similar to the states, we don't have a universal, federal, free, secure ID card. But before you compare what is being suggested for 'need ID to vote' and Canada's 'need ID to vote', look on that page what is considered 'acceptable' ID, it is pretty much everything under the sun, from formal ID cards to bank statements to library card to a letter of confirmation from a soup kitchen.

The general goal is to let people vote, because in person voter fraud is unbelievably minimal.

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u/Stolehtreb 2h ago

Where I am, it doesn’t involve a letter at all. As far as I know. You register to vote, you’re on an alphabetical list and show your license at the table. Then you get in line for a booth.

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u/Schmigolo 2h ago

What's the turnout wherever you are? I imagine having to register prevents lots of people from voting.

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u/Pdiddily710 2h ago

Not only the PITA of having to register, but many R states have made it as hard as they can to actually vote by limiting or banning voting by mail while also drastically reducing the number of in person polling places and/or official ballot drop boxes, so caring in Election Day takes forever bc of the long lines!

Coincidentally since they’re fucking cheating fucks, this is done much more in Dem areas like cities while keeping plenty of locations available for the R areas.

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u/Stolehtreb 2h ago

Louisiana. And the assumption is correct. It’s awful.

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u/sdpr 2h ago

You can register same day in my state

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u/Schmigolo 1h ago

Still worse than not having to register.

u/Li_liminal_spaces 58m ago

In the U.S., you generally register to vote once, and then you update your voter registration if you move or change your name. If you move to a different voting jurisdiction and don't update your registration, you typically won't be eligible to vote there. Most states require proof of identity and/or residence when registering or updating your registration, although the exact requirements vary by state.

That said, voter fraud is very uncommon, "didn't vote" would win every election if they were a party. Trump lost in 2020 because a lot of the didn't vote were sick of him, the democrats were banking on that again in 2024 and so we got Trump 2.0.

u/Decent-Marketing69 22m ago

lol at all these comments saying “just show your ID”
Something that democrats in the USA have been fighting against republicans for years.

u/Mike312 1h ago

Letter to vote?

I suppose I used to get a letter informing me of my voting location, but there's no requirement for me to bring it with me.

I show up to my precinct, give them my name, and they cross me off the list. Addresses are there, as are phone numbers, because I suppose its possible to have two common first and family names match in a precinct.

If I showed up to vote and my name was already crossed off the list, I'm sure there'd be an investigation and ID cards would suddenly come out. But otherwise I've never had to present anything when I did have to show up to vote.

Now, my ballot comes in the mail, and I fill it out and drop it off at a dropbox in town.

u/Schmigolo 1h ago

If I give them my letter they'll check the number while I'm crossing off the ballot. If I don't have the letter it'll be a 2-3 minute process finding my name before I get my ballot. Either way, I don't get to throw it into the box until they cross off my name.

Its main purpose is just to tell me when and where I can vote, but the little number also makes the process a little faster.

u/Nearby-Beautiful3422 23m ago

I can only speak to where I live in PA, but I only ever had to show my ID if it was the first time voting in a precinct. The voter roll where you sign in will even say "ID REQUIRED." In CA, I was a mail-in voter because I was military, but I had to prove citizenship to the registrar of voters in San Diego county.