I think you missed an important aspect, of coming to agreement on nationally standard ID cards. One point is that within the NRA community they fight any improvement in federal ID cards, because they are convinced that they will be used in the process of keeping data on who buys and owns guns, and will be used to take away their guns. The other group is Libertarians, and the libertarians in the GOP that don't want the federal government snooping on them.
It took decades of negotiation, standardization, and implementation, to come to the Federal standards for state drivers licenses. It is daunting to think of starting from scratch, instead we should build from the expansion of the license to people who don't drive. My understanding is that readers in any police car, can read any license and verify it.
I am sure people would be spooked by a reader on each voting machine, but one on the table where you check in should be OK. Whether this would have stopped the several Trump voters, who were caught later, and prosecuted for voting in person in one state and absentee in several others, I don't know. It was encouraging that there is enough state to state cooperation to catch these people.
I was talking to a New York based customs agent, about my losing my GOES card, because it needed renewal, when Trump suspended the renewal or issuance of new GOES cards in New York, as a penalty. The agent defended it, saying New York would give one to anybody who walked in and Trump did the right thing. I suspect there will be lingering distrust, that while their state is doing the right things, other states are cheating in some way. I doubt that national standards on who and the process states would use to issue them would ever get through congress.
Your analysis and possible solutions to voter registration needs a side by side chart to study the possibilities and make sense of creative solutions and costs. I find the gerrymandering issue to be even more worrisome. The ACLU has been actively litigating in Ohio, Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia and other southern states.
I lean left on many issues, but I have never had a problem with the idea of voter ID. I think Lee has come up with some reasonable and affordable solutions. In NC, I believe you can get a non-driver's license ID for $10 at the DMV. In addition to SS cards, many people have Medicare cards, insurance cards (for health, prescription, car), passports, professional licenses (e.g., there are more than 100,000 real estate brokers in NC) and other forms of ID. If these forms of identification could be issued in a "smart" format that would be difficult to counterfeit, couldn't they be used for voting as well?
I’m more in favor of a government issued photo I’d, without the social security number on it. There is too much ss number stealing to risk showing it at polling places. The US Government should initiate a program. Putting it in the hands of the states introduces race bias into the issuing
There are processes for establishing a person's identity through the internet. The IRS has an ID.me service where your ID is established by submitting two picture IDs (in my case a driver's license and a passport) online followed by a zoom session with a trusted referee. There are variations on this process for establishing an applicants identity.
It also seems that your win-win solution assumes that the Republican interest is genuinely based on suppressing fraudulent voting. Since there is little evidence of fraudulent voting, why are the Republicans are still actively and broadly pursuing voter IDs. It suggests their true motive is suppression of voters likely to vote for Democratic candidates.
I think you missed an important aspect, of coming to agreement on nationally standard ID cards. One point is that within the NRA community they fight any improvement in federal ID cards, because they are convinced that they will be used in the process of keeping data on who buys and owns guns, and will be used to take away their guns. The other group is Libertarians, and the libertarians in the GOP that don't want the federal government snooping on them.
It took decades of negotiation, standardization, and implementation, to come to the Federal standards for state drivers licenses. It is daunting to think of starting from scratch, instead we should build from the expansion of the license to people who don't drive. My understanding is that readers in any police car, can read any license and verify it.
I am sure people would be spooked by a reader on each voting machine, but one on the table where you check in should be OK. Whether this would have stopped the several Trump voters, who were caught later, and prosecuted for voting in person in one state and absentee in several others, I don't know. It was encouraging that there is enough state to state cooperation to catch these people.
I was talking to a New York based customs agent, about my losing my GOES card, because it needed renewal, when Trump suspended the renewal or issuance of new GOES cards in New York, as a penalty. The agent defended it, saying New York would give one to anybody who walked in and Trump did the right thing. I suspect there will be lingering distrust, that while their state is doing the right things, other states are cheating in some way. I doubt that national standards on who and the process states would use to issue them would ever get through congress.
Bill
Your analysis and possible solutions to voter registration needs a side by side chart to study the possibilities and make sense of creative solutions and costs. I find the gerrymandering issue to be even more worrisome. The ACLU has been actively litigating in Ohio, Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia and other southern states.
I lean left on many issues, but I have never had a problem with the idea of voter ID. I think Lee has come up with some reasonable and affordable solutions. In NC, I believe you can get a non-driver's license ID for $10 at the DMV. In addition to SS cards, many people have Medicare cards, insurance cards (for health, prescription, car), passports, professional licenses (e.g., there are more than 100,000 real estate brokers in NC) and other forms of ID. If these forms of identification could be issued in a "smart" format that would be difficult to counterfeit, couldn't they be used for voting as well?
I’m more in favor of a government issued photo I’d, without the social security number on it. There is too much ss number stealing to risk showing it at polling places. The US Government should initiate a program. Putting it in the hands of the states introduces race bias into the issuing
There are processes for establishing a person's identity through the internet. The IRS has an ID.me service where your ID is established by submitting two picture IDs (in my case a driver's license and a passport) online followed by a zoom session with a trusted referee. There are variations on this process for establishing an applicants identity.
It also seems that your win-win solution assumes that the Republican interest is genuinely based on suppressing fraudulent voting. Since there is little evidence of fraudulent voting, why are the Republicans are still actively and broadly pursuing voter IDs. It suggests their true motive is suppression of voters likely to vote for Democratic candidates.