General Discussion
Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsEvery cockamamie GOP voting supression scheme has one thing in common
Passports trump other IDs.
A passport is valid for many years, and your current street address is not all that important, because the US government does not expect you to notify them for a new passport every time you move . It's a GIVEN, that you are a citizen because they issued you a passport.
Democratic leadership should launch Operation Passport, ASAP, and encourage whatever Sugar Daddies there are on our side, to pony up some funding so people can start getting them. This would be money well spent, and could actually cause the GOP to stop all their nonsensical voting rules changes. Imagine if MOST democratic voters started showing up with a passport. As the pre-Boomers "leave the building", MOST people here will have been born in a hospital, and will have records available to them. (I know there is always the random case of a person here or there who cannot get their documents)
The beauty of having a passport is that when it does expire, you do not need to refile all the documents. When we got our most recent ones, they were good for 15 years .
I KNOW they cost money, but if people can spend millions of dollars on ads to get people to vote, it should also be possible for those voters to actually VOTE...and for it to count.
MOST people have valid ID, but for the woman-issue in Texas (names) and for other issues in the Jim Crow areas (skin color), a passport would nullify the GOP shenanigans
State-issued IDs expire every few years. College IDs are being excluded, .. A passport seems to be the best option. It could also be something that could be legislated (if given a chance to pass it ). With the patchwork laws from state to state, and the fact they they are always being tweaked just in time for an election, this seems to solve the problem. It's valid in every state, and voter purges would be more difficult also, if people show up with a passport proving they are citizens, and eligible to vote.
Instead of getting your teens video stuff for Xmas/birthday/graduation, get them a passport before they go off to college, or out on their own.
VanillaRhapsody
(21,115 posts)SoCalDem
(103,856 posts)"SO?"
There is a cost to everything worthwhile. and that's why I suggested funding to get these into the hands of people who cannot afford them.
iPhones cost more than that..so do laptops.. Wiis cost more than that
We cannot say that voting matters if we (as a party) are not willing to help people get the ID they need..
We KNOW that the GOP will ALWAYS be making new flaming hoops for our voters to jump through, so we need to cut them off at the pass and make sure that OUR voters are compliant with any nonsense they can cook up.. or
we can continue to wring our hands and complain about how unfair it all is..
It's a choice
dballance
(5,756 posts)Whenever I'm doing a job interview or have to provide proof of citizenship I make sure I have it with me. It's the best form of federal ID in my opinion.
Of course, I'm not that far from the Canadian border and we do go to Vancouver, BC from time to time so it's a necessity now.
kentauros
(29,414 posts)I have a passport, and I think I'll take mine with me and show it first instead of my driver's license. I want to see how they react to that
dem in texas
(2,674 posts)Kansas already has two voter ID requirements for elections, one for US and one for state and local. That is another way to get around voter laws and suppress minor and women's vote. I think Arizona is getting ready to implement the 2 tier system also.
Bandit
(21,475 posts)from voter fraud... Voter fraud is basically non-existent. There is no need for anything other than what we have had in place for over two hundred years.
SoCalDem
(103,856 posts)In places where "what we have had in place for over two hundred years" is no longer enough, we need to make sure that ALL citizens (even Democrats) are "allowed" to vote without being hassled at their polling places.
Until WE can take over the reins of government in those places , and can assure fairness, we have to somehow work within the parameters in place.
Lawsuits are great, but SCOTUS is not a friend, and has made it more costly, time-consuming and cumbersome .... and litigating the same things over and over forever, is a useful (to GOP) way for us to waste money every election cycle, and a way to create havoc around every election.
WE know that "voter fraud" is just a GOP invention, but enough GOP-controlled legislatures have bought into it, to change the rules every election.
A US passport is an ID, but it's an ID that undoubtedly proves citizenship, and eligibility to vote, and it can be applied for through the mail. It takes time, but so does going to the DMV .
MOST people can comply with the curveballs thrown every election. This is an option for the ones who have a problem getting other ID...and is something that could be funded by our donor "Sugar Daddies".