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[Phmcw]

... have them issued by the townhouse?

[hector13]

Well, make getting an id free or cheap enough that the price doesn't matter (like 5$)? Problem solved (like in every other frigging countries).

It should be free. Voting is a right, you shouldn't have to pay for it.

This also means you shouldn't have to go out of your way to get any piece of paper which allows you to vote.

[Phmcw]

Well, make getting an id free or cheap enough that the price doesn't matter (like 5$)? Problem solved (like in every other frigging countries).

It should be free. Voting is a right, you shouldn't have to pay for it.

This also means you shouldn't have to go out of your way to get any piece of paper which allows you to vote.

Well, you should take any measure to ensure that he vote is fair. So yeah, getting an id isn't unthinkable.
But you should take any measure to ensure that he vote is fair, so getting an id should be easy for anyone if required.

[LoSboccacc]

It should be free. Voting is a right, you shouldn't have to pay for it.

This also means you shouldn't have to go out of your way to get any piece of paper which allows you to vote.

Wrong premise. Voting is not an universal right, only certain classes of people can vote - i.e. there's an age gate.

Also, wrong assumption of the problem being solved. Votes must not be cast twice, so you need to know who voted.

[hector13]

It should be free. Voting is a right, you shouldn't have to pay for it.

This also means you shouldn't have to go out of your way to get any piece of paper which allows you to vote.

Wrong premise. Voting is not an universal right, only certain classes of people can vote - i.e. there's an age gate.

Also, wrong assumption of the problem being solved. Votes must not be cast twice, so you need to know who voted.

Universal suffrage is a thing, stop splitting hairs :p

That's what electoral rolls are for.

In the U.K. you get sent a letter with a polling card (which isn't strictly necessary) and told at which polling station to vote.

You go, tell them your name and address, and they cross your name off a list, very precisely. They give you the ballot, tell you what to do with it, you do it and post it in the ballot box.

No idea what they do in cases someone claims to be someone who has already voted, but it is as Reelya says, you would need to memorize the details of multiple people in multiple districts and not mix up the details, and hope those people haven't been in before or will come in later.

[Rockphed]

I mostly agree except the "voter id" being a negative. All that you said needs fixing, of course, but not requiring id from voters is just asking for trouble. You might not have seen the need so far because you were all happily living the american dream, but voters manipulation is definitely a thing now.

Voter ID is good. People not being able to afford ID is not good. If you want voter ID as a state, you're kinda obligated to provide ID for free, so no one is denied their voting right on financial grounds. (Over here, ID is not free, it's a whopping 80-ish euros (less for an EU-only ID card)) but if you're on 'social minimum' you will be reimbursed by the city coffers.)

ah that'd explain the weirdness. yeah once it mandatory to have one for voting, it needs to be mandatory also to have it free. in Italy we actually have a compromise: a personally issued 'voter card' that's only valid in your circumscription. the card can be obtained for free in a short time, even on election day, but has limited uses, and it's a required document to vote.

And every state in the US with a mandatory ID to vote (or even an almost mandatory ID to vote, like in Michigan where you can either present ID or sign a statement), has a system to provide state-issued IDs to anyone who claims financial hardship for paying for it.  Most of them require a fee for a driver's license, but an ID can be had for free.

Well, make getting an id free or cheap enough that the price doesn't matter (like 5$)? Problem solved (like in every other frigging countries).

It should be free. Voting is a right, you shouldn't have to pay for it.

This also means you shouldn't have to go out of your way to get any piece of paper which allows you to vote.

The same piece of paper that is generally accepted as proof of person to vote is also required to enter some government buildings or buy liquor or drive.  Is it onerous for people to have to get ID to do those things?

[hector13]

Poor equivalencies.

In the process of being licensed to drive you get an ID, which is proof that you jumped through the necessary hoops to get licensed. The ID issued is to let people know you have been deemed skilled enough to drive safely.

There are also penalties for people who sell alcohol/tobacco to underage folks, usually involving revoking their license to sell them, as well as fines and probable criminal records. The ID check is for the seller, not the buyer.

You don't need to learn a skill to vote (beyond filling in the ballot correctly) and the person who checks off people at a polling station won't be punished for someone else's fraud.

[misko27]

It should be free. Voting is a right, you shouldn't have to pay for it.

This also means you shouldn't have to go out of your way to get any piece of paper which allows you to vote.

Wrong premise. Voting is not an universal right, only certain classes of people can vote - i.e. there's an age gate.

Also, wrong assumption of the problem being solved. Votes must not be cast twice, so you need to know who voted.

Universal suffrage is a thing, stop splitting hairs :p

That's what electoral rolls are for.

In the U.K. you get sent a letter with a polling card (which isn't strictly necessary) and told at which polling station to vote.

You go, tell them your name and address, and they cross your name off a list, very precisely. They give you the ballot, tell you what to do with it, you do it and post it in the ballot box.

No idea what they do in cases someone claims to be someone who has already voted, but it is as Reelya says, you would need to memorize the details of multiple people in multiple districts and not mix up the details, and hope those people haven't been in before or will come in later.

That's basically what we do in New York in fact. You come in, tell us your name and address, we check you off and then send you off with your ballot. The main protection is that legally anyone can (and us workers are mandated to) challenge anyone. Anyone can be challenged for any reason, including no reason at all, but especially if they don't appear to be who they say they are. If they are challenged, we tag them (and they have to make a pledge) and investigate them after the vote. It doesn't catch "in progress" voter fraud, but if we find they've been doing something they aren't supposed to later, they go to prison for a very long time, so it avoids repeat offenders. Under the system, you can commit fraud, but only once.

[Rolepgeek]

Universal suffrage isn't quite true.

If you've ever committed a felony, you can't vote.

This is true basically only in the US. Brazil, meanwhile, for example, disallows you from voting if you've been conscripted into active military service. But even if you've committed a crime, you're still allowed to vote.

Now, this seems minor, and sensible, but combine it with largest prison population per-capita in the world and you get issues.

EDIT: Also Maine's ranked system could really use improvement; instead of it being whoever has the most first-place votes, it's basically whoever has the least last-place votes, and still doesn't optimize for Condorcet efficiency properly.

[Neonivek]

Yes but that is because the USA is a firm believer that being a felon means you revoke basic human rights.

For example... Slavery is still allowed in the USA so long as the person who is being enslaved in the Criminal.
-This is a bigger deal then it seems... Even one country over 300 years ago where you could have manditory prison labor did you pay the prisoners... MIND you the reason they were more willing to do that is because Prisons often could barely afford to provide for inmates... so they would often pay for food and warmth out of their own pocket.
--I mean... HMMM!!! maybe having prisoners earn some money for when they are let go is a good idea... especially since this isn't mandatory community service but rather them being enslaved by the prisons to earn money for the prisons... and being unable to negotiate their times, conditions, or pay.

And there is a lot more... such as the Sex Offender's list... being arrested without due process...

[origamiscienceguy]

Privatized prisons are a bad idea.

[Dozebôm Lolumzalěs]

Arrested for resisting arrest!

[Antioch]

Felons not being allowed would also make for a damn convenient way to prevent political prisoners from ever having influence again.

[Neonivek]

Felons not being allowed would also make for a damn convenient way to prevent political prisoners from ever having influence again.

Political prisoners aren't felons...

And they already have no human rights... That is the entire point of Guatanamo is to avoid things like due process of law.

I am not even ENTIRELY against the idea of a jail specifically for suspected terrorists or spies... The conditions of Guatanamo though...

It is like the camps set up for the Japanese during WW2... I am not against the camps existing (heck, in many ways it probably protected them just as much as it did Canada)... The fact that these were forced labor camps, that they sold their goods, and just generally treated them badly... THAT is the embarassment.

[Dozebôm Lolumzalěs]

Erm, Neo... sticking people in internment camps, without due process, based on their race... that's pretty embarrassing in and of itself.