Voting ID requirements have not been universally seen as a good thing in the UK, there’s been a lot of opposition to it.
There is no national ID in the UK, instead there is a patchwork of secondary ID systems such as passports, drivers licenses, travel cards etc. In most cases they have a monetary cost or are not universally available.
It’s been seen as an attempt at voter suppression as many poorer British people may not have suitable ID. The rules also reject many forms of ID commonly held by younger voters, while accepting a wider range of ID held be older voters. There is supposed to be a free voting ID available but implantation has been left to local councils and has been criticised as hard to access.
There is no national ID in the UK
This is so wild.
It's never been a problem until now.
If Blunkett had got his way we'd all have ID cards. Though if that had happened the Tories wouldn't have introduced ID cards for elections as it wouldn't have given them advantage.
Your National Insurance number is as close as it gets. Similar to Social security number in America. Receive it at 16 and it doesn't change except in cases of fraud. A record of all taxe and National Insurance contributions you make. Goes towards pension.
Seriously? They made voting ID a council issue? Northern Ireland has had voting ID for a while and it's dead easy to get one, only thing I needed to pay was postage on a 2nd class stamp. Pretty good as well as it basically makes a free photographic ID available
So, you had it mailed? Wouldn't that leave houseless people on the short end of this "dead easy" stick?
You can get stuff mailed to a sheltered accomodation or homeless shelter
You generally needed the polling card and an address to register to vote before this system, so I don't see how it makes a difference.
As a person with no horse in the grinder, why is requiring ID a good thing in England/EU a good thing, but bad in the USA?
There is no national ID in the UK
True, but it also isn't really answering the parent comment's question, as there is also no national ID in the US.
Did you only read the middle paragraph? They said it's not seen as a good thing by some people and set out the problems with it.
Even the paragraph you highlighted is part of explaining why it's not it's not seen as a good thing in the UK.
Did you only read the middle paragraph?
I read that. I also read the first sentence in the parent's question. He was asking why there was a difference between the US and the UK.
The comment I responded to was saying that not everyone does see it as a good thing, but that doesn't mean that the fact that there is no national ID explains a difference.
He was asking why there was a difference between the US and the UK.
The comment you were replying to was saying there isn't a difference between the US and UK. It's a divisive issue in both with some people pushing for it and some thinking it's a bad thing.
Voting ID requirements have not been universally seen as a good thing in the UK, there’s been a lot of opposition to it.
There is no national ID in the UK, instead there is a patchwork of secondary ID systems such as passports, drivers licenses, travel cards etc. In most cases they have a monetary cost or are not universally available.
It’s been seen as an attempt at voter suppression as many poorer British people may not have suitable ID. The rules also reject many forms of ID commonly held by younger voters, while accepting a wider range of ID held be older voters. There is supposed to be a free voting ID available but implantation has been left to local councils and has been criticised as hard to access.
This is so wild.
It's never been a problem until now.
If Blunkett had got his way we'd all have ID cards. Though if that had happened the Tories wouldn't have introduced ID cards for elections as it wouldn't have given them advantage.
Your National Insurance number is as close as it gets. Similar to Social security number in America. Receive it at 16 and it doesn't change except in cases of fraud. A record of all taxe and National Insurance contributions you make. Goes towards pension.
Seriously? They made voting ID a council issue? Northern Ireland has had voting ID for a while and it's dead easy to get one, only thing I needed to pay was postage on a 2nd class stamp. Pretty good as well as it basically makes a free photographic ID available
So, you had it mailed? Wouldn't that leave houseless people on the short end of this "dead easy" stick?
You can get stuff mailed to a sheltered accomodation or homeless shelter
You generally needed the polling card and an address to register to vote before this system, so I don't see how it makes a difference.
True, but it also isn't really answering the parent comment's question, as there is also no national ID in the US.
Did you only read the middle paragraph? They said it's not seen as a good thing by some people and set out the problems with it.
Even the paragraph you highlighted is part of explaining why it's not it's not seen as a good thing in the UK.
I read that. I also read the first sentence in the parent's question. He was asking why there was a difference between the US and the UK.
The comment I responded to was saying that not everyone does see it as a good thing, but that doesn't mean that the fact that there is no national ID explains a difference.
The comment you were replying to was saying there isn't a difference between the US and UK. It's a divisive issue in both with some people pushing for it and some thinking it's a bad thing.