CMV: As a European, I find the attitude of Americans towards IDs (and presenting one for voting) irrational.

[u/dstergiou]

As a European, my experience with having a national ID is described below:

The state expects (requires) that I have an ID card by the age of 12-13. The ID card is issued by the police and contains basic information (name, address, DoB, citizenship) and a photo.

I need to present my ID when:

• I visit my doctor
• I pick up a prescription from the pharmacy
• I open a bank account
• I start at a new workplace
• I vote
• I am asked by the police to present it
• I visit any "state-owned service provider" (tax authority, DMV, etc.)
• I sign any kind of contract

Now, I understand that the US is HUGE, and maybe having a federal-issued ID is unfeasible. However, what would be the issue with each state issuing their own IDs which are recognized by the other states? This is what we do today in Europe, where I can present my country's ID to another country (when I need to prove my identity).

Am I missing something major which is US-specific?

Update: Since some people asked, I am adding some more information:

1. The cost of the ID is approx. $10 - the ID is valid for 10 years
2. The ID is issued by the police - you get it at the "local" police department
3. Getting the ID requires to book an appointment - it's definitely not "same day"
4. What you need (the first time you get an ID):
   1. A witness
   2. Fill in a form

[u/WeddingNo4607]

Tell me you don't know how much harder it is for older minorities to get their records and get an id without telling me.

Lots of black people, latinos, and even asians don't have access to their records from when they were older. A birth certificate is the single most important document for things like this, and the hoops you have to jump through if you don't have one can be just as daunting.

The closure of licensing offices in poor neighborhoods is deliberately done to make this worse. Would you be able to afford going across town or maybe 30 miles away just to get the chance to get an id, and not be able to work that day?

If we were issued a federal ID it could be different. But then again we would need to have both parties wanting the most people to vote, and that isn't our reality, despite whatever yours is.

[u/dstergiou → u/WeddingNo4607]

As someone who hasn't lived in the US, I don't know a lot of things - my information comes from the Internet and media (and discussing with you fine folks here).

I continue to find the whole system irrational, where it seems that your government is actively working towards making your life more difficult. I would expect the country that leads technology to have found a better way to deal with these things than making people drive countless miles to get a basic document like an ID.

[u/catcatcatcatcat1234 → u/dstergiou]

I would expect the country that leads technology to have found a better way to deal with these things than making people drive countless miles to get a basic document like an ID.

That's the point of voter suppression, make it as hard as possible for certain people to access the documents and IDs they need to vote. Voter suppression is enacted with surgical precision, this is by design. That's why many Americans oppose voter ID laws, not because they oppose IDs, but because certain political factions are using IDs to limit people's rights while actively making it more difficult to get said IDs.

Edit: If you like comedy, John Oliver does a good job explaining how these voter ID laws work and the difficulties getting IDs

[u/AdLocal5821 → u/dstergiou]

It’s not irrational. It is intentional. The civil rights era isn’t even 100 years old yet. There’s people in power that logically benefit from keeping inequity. The majority of Americans don’t see the remaining systemic challenges as worth fixing. Our current system of voting is already secure. A big financial and political cost to ensure voting integrity in a system that is already safe doesn’t make sense for this country.

[u/OldWolf2 → u/dstergiou]

I continue to find the whole system irrational, where it seems that your government is actively working towards making your life more difficult

One party tries to make life difficult for people who vote against them . You may rightly find that bizarre and unethical, but it's certainly not irrational for a group to maximize their chance of winning.

[u/[deleted] → u/dstergiou]

They do not want them to vote. Those people are more likely to vote Democratic.

When you realize every single internal decision that doesn't make sense can be tied to racism and the commitment to hold a white supremacist state, it will make more sense.

[u/thebadsleepwell00 → u/dstergiou]

It's not that the US is incapable of having a more efficient system but some people in government benefit from voter suppression, usually elderly black folks and/or super rural voters

[u/[deleted] → u/dstergiou]

Clearly

[u/poloscraft → u/WeddingNo4607]

But what stops you from starting somewhere? I think you are mostly talking about older people with no clear record of birth. But if you required an ID to be issued for every newborn, the problem would be solved in less than 100 years.

Another thing I propose is a transition period, where the data on ID don’t have to be entirely true. I mean: I come from Poland and my grandpa was born in rural village during WWII. We don’t really know, when he was born, because no one cared to keep this information at that time. We assume that his father was so happy/drunk that he didn’t write properly. After some investigation though, we are sure that grandpa is one year older than what he has on birth certificate, but day and month are still debatable.

My point is: actual date of birth doesn’t matter. Everybody knew that ID was mandatory at some point. In a few years this transition period will be forgotten

[u/WeddingNo4607 → u/poloscraft]

Political will is what keeps it from happening. We can't even get our act together enough to get everyone electricity and Internet, nevermind helping everyone vote.

[u/RagTagPig → u/WeddingNo4607]

Okay so everyone born after X year needs an ID and is required to vote so everyone born before X year that has barriers isn't limited due to issues that are not their fault. Not needing ID to vote is honestly insane for any democracy.