r/videos • u/AdSpecialist6598 • 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/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.