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Comment by eunos | Hacker News Reader

I mean this is a country in which the question of Voter ID can be very controversial.

That’s the wrong framing.

In Germany every adult has to have an ID card. You cannot not have one. As a consequence requiring one for voting is practically unproblematic.

In the US the situation is fundamentally different plus there is a history of heinous racial targeted disenfranchisement of voters to consider that is in the extremely recent past and alive and well.

And what if germany turns authoritarian again? Unthinkable I know, but ID cards will only become a tool of oppression.

Only Anglo-Saxon society thinks like that. I never ever see another society think like this.

It's like seething over criminal justice system (police, court, prisons), what if govt turns authoritarian? Criminal justice system will become a tool of oppression.

Sure criminal justice system can be and have been a tool of oppression, but no sane society would forgo criminal justice under this fear.

To be fair some things that are considered normal in non-Anglo Saxon societies are considered authoritarian in Anglo Saxon societies, in particular having to register your whereabouts with the government, or having to carry ID at all times.

The USA is currently on the road to proving you don't need mandatory identification to turn authoritarian. The Flock cameras have taken over the manual process of following people around.

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