Which of those IDs is available for free? I just checked the state website and they charge for drivers licenses and state IDs and all the federal IDs require money.

They at least offer the alternate forms of ID, but those still eliminate people. A homeless person is probably not going to have any of those documents on hand, but they have every right to vote. There is also the inherent problem of singling out people without ID for further scrutiny. This added "security" has notoriously been used as a method to suppress the vote over the course of US history. The simple act of requiring someone to state on a government form they can't "reasonably" obtain an ID is going to scare some people off from voting. What is "reasonable"? Am I going to be charged with voter fraud if I simply didn't want to spend the money on an ID? Will I end up in jail for voting? There is a chilling effect here.

>Which of those IDs is available for free? I just checked the state website and they charge for drivers licenses and state IDs

The Texas Election Identification Certificate ID is free.

>and all the federal IDs require money.

Wrong. Military and veteran IDs are federal IDs that are free of charge.

>They at least offer the alternate forms of ID, but those still eliminate people. A homeless person is probably not going to have any of those documents on hand, but they have every right to vote.

They wouldn't have been allowed to vote under the previous system either. This is a red herring.

> There is also the inherent problem of singling out people without ID for further scrutiny. This added "security" has notoriously been used as a method to suppress the vote over the course of US history.

There is no "further scrutiny". You either have the documentation that proves your eligibility to vote in your locality, or you don't. Studies showed that Voter ID laws have little to no effect on turn out.

> The simple act of requiring someone to state on a government form they can't "reasonably" obtain an ID is going to scare some people off from voting.

No doubt, but in Texas and in many other states, they are reasonably attainable, and have no fees. Somewhat of a straw man here. Again, studies showed that Voter ID laws have little to no effect on turn out.

> What is "reasonable"? Am I going to be charged with voter fraud if I simply didn't want to spend the money on an ID?

No, you just won't be allowed to vote. You won't be charged with any crime. Also, you don't spend money on fees, the above ID mentioned is free.

> Will I end up in jail for voting? There is a chilling effect here.

This is all conjecture. There is no chilling effect on requiring a free voter ID according to the studies.

>The Texas Election Identification Certificate ID is free.

Which itself requires ID to acquire defeating its purpose as an alternative ID for people without ID.

>Wrong. Military and veteran IDs are federal IDs that are free of charge.

I was referring to the IDs available to the general public. A military ID being free is irrelevant to a huge majority of the US.

>They wouldn't have been allowed to vote under the previous system either. This is a red herring.

How is that a red herring? A flaw existing in both the old and new system doesn't mean it isn't a flaw. Do you think disenfranchising homeless people is acceptable?

>There is no "further scrutiny". You either have the documentation that proves your eligibility to vote in your locality, or you don't. Studies showed that Voter ID laws have little to no effect on turn out.

It takes added time and requires further documentation. The time it takes to vote has been shown to have an impact on voter turnout. Also I don't know what studies you are talking about. Here is one from a nonpartisan Government Accountability Office that says the exact opposite[1].

Your other points all rely on something refuted in the above points.

[1]- https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2014/10/09/ga...

>Which itself requires ID to acquire defeating its purpose as an alternative ID for people without ID.

You need documentation to prove you're eligible to vote in your locality in order to be able to vote in your locality. The is the same logic behind any type of identification/registration, Voter ID or not.

>I was referring to the IDs available to the general public. A military ID being free is irrelevant to a huge majority of the US.

You specifically stated "all the federal IDs require money", which is patently false, QED.

>How is that a red herring? A flaw existing in both the old and new system doesn't mean it isn't a flaw. Do you think disenfranchising homeless people is acceptable?

It is by definition a red herring because being a flaw or not is immaterial to the discussion at hand since it is not specific to Voter ID laws. You asking the question is a textbook logical fallacy.

>It takes added time and requires further documentation. The time it takes to vote has been shown to have an impact on voter turnout.

Sometimes it takes time to leverage your rights. Gun background checks is an example of that, as are voter ID laws. There is no conclusive study that has shown voter ID laws impact turnout.

> Also I don't know what studies you are talking about. Here is one from a nonpartisan Government Accountability Office that says the exact opposite

You linked a piece from a laughably biased news source. It even states opposite of your claim: "That change wasn't entirely due to voter ID, of course, but the GAO report suggests it played a part."

"In a 2014 review by the Government Accountability Office of the academic literature, five studies out of ten found that voter ID laws had no significant effect on overall turnout, four studies found that voter ID laws decreased overall turnout, and one study found that the laws increased overall turnout."

"Studies of the effects of voter ID laws on turnout in the United States have generally found that such laws have little, if any, effect on turnout."

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Voter_ID_laws_in_the_United_...

The Election Identification Certificate is free.

I'm far from an expert in Texas election law, but here is what I found in a quick Google search[1]. In order to get an Election Identification Certificate you need to go to a DMV office during business hours with a proof of citizenship and a proof of identity. It sounds like the existence of this ID is redundant if you need ID to acquire it. It almost seems designed solely to counter people when they complain voter ID laws are the equivalent of a poll tax.

[1] - https://www.dps.texas.gov/driverlicense/electionid.htm

Yes. In order to avail onesself of the benefits of citizenship one must establish that they are in fact a citizen.

Why do you need to validate citizenship when issuing a voter ID if citizenship was already validated when registering to vote? That seems like a completely redundant requirement that is only put in place to make it slightly more difficult to acquire said ID.

I don't think citizenship is actually validated when you register to vote. I live in California and all I had to do was go on their website and check a couple boxes and fill out a form.

In several areas it is permissible for residents to be registered to vote in municipal elections etc. In some places, the local government has made efforts to get those who are neither legal residents not citizens registered for local elections. In those locations, enforcing a requirement to validate citizenship when availing onesself of the privileges thereof (e.g. voting in federal elections) makes sense.

How can you live in this society without some proof of identity?

It is very easy in the US, especially in either very urban or very rural communities. If you don't drive on public roads and are already established in life with a job or bank account, you probably don't actually need an ID for much in your day to day life. Even activities that we normally think of as requiring an ID like traveling on a plane are possible without an ID if you are willing to jump through some hoops.

Then it's even better than in Europe, you usually pay a small tax to get documents. Then what is this fuzz about having a proper documents to vote about? Republicans being suspicious about the fraud has merit.

Requiring any tax in order to allow someone to vote is expressly illegal in the US as it used to be abused as a form of voter suppression.

From our Constitution (24th Amendment, Section 1)[1]:

>The right of citizens of the United States to vote in any primary or other election for President or Vice President for electors for President or Vice President, or for Senator or Representative in Congress, shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or any State by reason of failure to pay any poll tax or other tax.

[1] - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twenty-fourth_Amendment_to_the...

Well you need a home too to vote? Or how do they send you the envelope otherwise? Isn't that a tax as well. I could count tons on items, where's the line? Transport to polling station? Clothes to show up?

You do not need a home or address to vote. You can setup your mail to be sent to a shelter, a social worker, or any number of other options. The US Postal Service has also been known to deliver to places that don't have official addresses so you might even be able to get something delivered to the "red tent behind the Walmart". You can also generally pick up whatever you need from the local elections office.

Numerous services exist to provide free rides to polling places including some publicly owned transportation options.

The right to vote does not excuse you committing crimes in order to vote and being naked is generally illegal is most of the US which would probably be what prevents you from voting without clothes.