• dhork@lemmy.world
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    21 hours ago

    I think it’s insane that proof of citizenship isn’t a requirement

    If a citizen loses their passport or birth certificate, should they be disenfranchised?

    and that states aren’t mandated to give IDs to their citizens

    The extreme Christians would never go for that, because they equate it to the Mark of the Beast in the Bible. I’m not joking.

    https://www.aclu.org/news/national-security/just-time-independence-day-renewed-call-national-id-card

    This isn’t a partisan issue. In 1981, at the outset of the Reagan administration, then-Attorney General William French Smith argued that a national worker ID would be necessary to stop illegal immigration. At a cabinet meeting another member jokingly suggested that it would be easier simply to tattoo an identification number on everyone. President Reagan then exclaimed, “My God! That’s the mark of the beast,” effectively ending the Reagan administration’s discussion of a national ID system.

    • Mike D.@lemm.ee
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      18 hours ago

      Most US citizens do not have a passport and I’m sure a large number have lost their birth certificate.

    • corsicanguppy@lemmy.ca
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      20 hours ago

      In 1981, [ #reasons ]

      “We did it this way because that’s how the discussion happened” isn’t science, unless you’re quoting Grace Hopper or a “5 monkey” experiment.

    • corsicanguppy@lemmy.ca
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      21 hours ago

      If a citizen loses their passport or birth certificate, should they be disenfranchised?

      No. What a weird question. You go get another one at the DMV. It’ll take you a half-hour.

      Why the drama over a lost card?

      • Alexstarfire@lemmy.world
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        14 hours ago

        Neither of those can be acquired at the DMV. It actually takes a long time to get a passport because they have to do a lot of checks. In certain cases you can pay to speed up the process but I doubt that’d be possible if people needed it to vote. Too many people in too short a window.

      • BrianTheeBiscuiteer@lemmy.world
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        19 hours ago

        I don’t live in bumpfuck nowhere, I live just outside a major metropolitan city. My wife had to wait 3 months to get her DL renewed and she had to drive over an hour to get to the office, IN A DIFFERENT FUCKING CITY!

      • smokin_shinobi@lemmy.world
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        20 hours ago

        Have you ever been to the DMV? If you show up without an appointment they tell you to come back at 4am to form a line.

      • ickplant@lemmy.world
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        20 hours ago

        Um. My son is getting his learner’s permit, we had to make an appointment at DMV, and the waitlist was 3 weeks. So, you sure about that?

        • TheLowestStone@lemmy.world
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          19 hours ago

          When I moved to a new state, I went to the DMV without an appointment. I was there for over 5 hours and then it took nearly 3 months for my new license to arrive in the mail. When it did, they got my birthday wrong.

          • Tujio@lemmy.world
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            17 hours ago

            My old roommate waited 3 weeks to get a drivers license, and they spelled his name wrong on it.

    • Kidplayer_666@lemm.ee
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      21 hours ago

      Speaking as a European here, just seems ridiculous to me, sorry for any misunderstandings, but y’all should have mandatory IDs and just use census data for voter registration