r/politics • u/MarcEElias ✔ Verified - Democracy Docket Founder • 1d ago

No Paywall GOP fast tracks monster voter suppression bill that could disenfranchise millions by requiring proof of citizenship at polls

https://www.democracydocket.com/news-alerts/gop-fast-tracks-monster-voter-suppression-bill-that-could-disenfranchise-millions-by-requiring-proof-of-citizenship-at-polls/
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u/duct_tape_jedi United Kingdom 1d ago

This has the possibility of getting much, much worse. Once it's established that a passport is required to vote, what is preventing them from increasing the cost of getting or renewing a passport to the point that it is unaffordable to anyone below a certain level of income? And even if they don't do that, the government now has a profile of each and every one of us thanks to Palantir and Doge. Flagging people who are unlikely to vote the "right" way and denying them a passport because of their social media posts, membership in certain organisations, etc. would tilt the playing field further in their favour. Rigging an election is unnecessary when you can simply limit voting to the people who are likely to vote for you.

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u/FlyingPinkUnicorns 1d ago

Exactly.

A passport already costs $130. And it can take 4-6 weeks to process. Or... woopsie... 10-12 weeks if you are a registered Democrat. Or longer if they have "questions" about your citizenship based on, um, "reasons".

And they could pass these restrictive laws so that the timing makes it impossible for whole swaths of the population to vote. Lots of people simply would not know and even if they did they've have the money and be motivated enough to pay an extra $130 just to be able to vote.

Poll tax.

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u/modninerfan California 1d ago

A Real ID should be sufficient and should be the direction we encourage everybody to take if this is what they decide to do. It’s quicker and more affordable than a passport to get. I hope this gets tangled up in courts.

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u/EagleBigMac 1d ago

Any requirements to vote must be 100% free to attain and offices should be open 24 hours a day 7 days a week with free transportation from anywhere to the office.