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Comment by newacct23 | Hacker News Reader

In no democratic nation except America is having voter ids required when you vote a controversial subject.

They "fail" to mention that the reason the principals were denied ballots was not that their identity was in question but that their eligibility to vote in the given precinct was not established, because of never registering previously and not proving residency in that precinct.

Isn't that the https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electoral_roll? That's pretty (universal?) standard in democratic elections.

It's not just about requiring ID, it's about requiring ID when many poor people do not have a qualifying ID, and can't afford one. It deliberately reduces the number of people who can vote for non-GOP candidates. And in many cases the offices where people can go to get an ID are rarely open, which makes it hard for people with multiple jobs and no car to ever manage to get there when they are open.

http://www.brennancenter.org/sites/default/files/legacy/Demo...

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/courts_law/getting-a...

http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/explainer/20...

Actually in Europe where I live voter id is absolutely mandatory. You need your government issued id card to vote. And I think that is the case for the rest of Europe.

Many poor Americans simply don't have any ID cards. That support for requiring voter IDs in the U.S. is by the party which traditionally doesn't get much support from poor people, it certainly seems to be an attempt to prevent them from voting for other parties too, especially as there's virtually no serious voter fraud going on by people abusing a lack of ID checks.

I have some macabre curiosity about how those people interact with the system at all. How do they identify themselves? And what actually prevents a person that just happens to be in the US from claiming he is citizen and getting id?

As I said where I live you get your id at 14, before that you are registered on the id of your parents. And it is impossible to interact with anything in official way without that id.

They largely don't. See my other comment [1] for more specifics and sources, but the primary ID in the U.S. is a driver's license, and in poor urban areas people don't drive and so don't have an ID. They also often lack the documentation to make it easy to go get an ID even if they're able to—and in many parts of the U.S. the places to go and get an ID are only open a few days a month, which makes it nearly impossible for people with no car and who are often working multiple low-paying jobs to support their family to schedule going there. Someone who was very motivated to do so could likely manage, but it creates enough of a barrier that many don't bother voting as a result.

[1] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=12023285

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