Please point out one person in power who suggests selectively applying voter ID laws in a state. If this discussion weren't partisan, your concern would simply translate to: "voter ID laws make sense; let's make sure the laws are written and enforced fairly", and not, "we can't do voter ID laws because it's possible to be unfair with them!"

It's possible to be unfair with every law, and every law will have disparate impact. What a silly argument to make!

You must not follow these issues closely, because there are many examples of states picking and choosing which IDs "count", with student IDs usually not counting under many Republican-crafted laws, but other IDs, such as gun licenses, being permitted. Further examples include reducing the hours/days of the offices that issue IDs and shrinking voter registration windows.

Roughly 11% of Americans don't have a valid government-issued ID and many of these individuals are lonely, ill, disabled, destitute, and are now being forced for the first time in their life to provide an ID to vote while at the same time their states are making it harder to get an ID. The Republican party is pushing these policies in almost every state, and prioritizing them over most other legislative concerns. This could not be less subtle.

So I googled for 2 minutes ( actually I used a different search engine because I don't trust google much for politics anymore), and I found this:

https://www.quora.com/Why-is-a-gun-license-accepted-as-a-vot...

"Your university I.D. was issued by a university compared to a government issued one. The license to carry contains your verified address, dob and all that. What does your University one have? The LTC required compete fingerprints and a background check. Seeing some differences here?"

Also:

"I cannot be 100% certain but its because Texas requires Social Security Numbers, Background checks and proof of citizenship to obtain a license to carry. So its a valid form of state issue ID. Not unlike a drivers license. Anyone could get a University ID. so long as they’re a student there. Including those on VISA’s or non-us residents."

At some point, I hope some of you all break out of your narrative bubble and start seeing that people on the other side aren't insane, racist, and power-hungry, and that we often have good reasons for what we do.

The government controls who it wants to grant these licenses to, so these restrictions mean you need the governments permission to vote, when it's your right to vote.

Why not get better integration with universities so it is a valid id?

The government controls who it wants to grant these licenses to, so these restrictions mean you need the governments permission to vote, when it's your right to vote.

This is Texas, not Massachusetts or New Jersey. The government does not get any more discretion in granting an LTC in TX than they do in issuing any other form of ID. Meet the requirements and they are legally obligated to give you one.

As an aside, getting an LTC in the shall-issue states is easier than getting a non-driver's license ID. In both cases it's just "meet requirements, show up, do paperwork, wait for them to check your computer records" but the police/sheriff issue it and they don't deal with nearly as many people wanting to file paperwork with them so they haven't optimized those processes for treating people like cattle the way the DMV has so it's a little easier.

Anyone proposing it that doesn't also legislate for every voter to be issued with one is being selective.

> The law, in its majestic equality, forbids the rich as well as the poor to sleep under bridges, to beg in the streets, and to steal bread

Yes, they are selecting for citizens with a valid ID. That's the point!

And, no, the law doesn't need to ensure every citizen gets a voting ID. How would one even do that? The voter rolls are out of date and don't contain every citizen. Also, how would you ensure the right IDs get to the right people?

You, as a citizen, do not have an inherent right to vote without having the ability to prove you are who you claim to be. You, as a citizen, may have to experience some inconvenience to get a valid ID if you don't have one already. As long as the inconvenience is reasonable, it should not prevent the creation of voter ID laws.

> You, as a citizen, do not have an inherent right to vote

Incorrect. Every citizen can vote, without any additional barriers designed to prevent them from doing so. Poll tax, literacy tests, ID laws, etc. They are all illegal in that they deny the RIGHT to vote.

If voter fraud were common, you might have a point about needed to "prove you are who you claim to be". The problem is, it's incredibly rare. And there are checks and audits done after the fact to ensure fraud is low. You simply do not need to check ID at the polls to ensure someone is not voting fraudulently.

And you know this.

If you're worried about getting the ids in the right hands, why not delegate to the Democrat party? The republicans set the requirements and the Democrats get the budget to make sure "the right people" meet them?