>It’s not like we have a national ID card with private crypto keys issued to every citizen or something.
Good luck with that. Every so often it is suggested that voters should verify their identity when going to the polls. Just presenting a drivers license, passport, state ID or social security card should suffice. It's a similar policy as in many European countries. And every time, there is a huge number of people who oppose it. A very surprising amount of otherwise reasonable people fight tooth and nail against any forms of verification.
If they created a national ID card that was mandatory for all citizens to have at all times I would agree with your sentiment but without one an ID is often seen as a cost for voting. When you live in poverty it's very easy to simply decide not to vote, especially when you already have to travel take time off work. It seems like a lot of us on HN haven't experience or don't understand what it's like to be so poor that you don't need an ID and don't have a bank account.
You're also comparing European nation-states to the United States which isn't fair in this case. US states have a great deal of autonomy and latitude. Since they issue their own IDs they can, and do, have their own requirements. First make a mandatory national ID a thing then you can complain about unreasonable people.
Because there are a significant amount of people who don't have any. Seriously, there are a lot of elderly people who simply have no need for a driver's license, so they don't have one. And if they're old enough, it's possible their birth certificate is not easy to get, or may even require traveling across state lines to do so. Where's the money for that trip going to come from? And for people who work, they're not always able to just take a day off to go to the DMV. And the DMV is only open during... working hours.
I know there are lots of rational arguments, but it's still funny to picture a vocal, outspoken radical voter worrying that if ID was required, the government might be able to figure out they voted for the vocal, outspoken radical candidate.
(I assume it's the more outspoken, more radical voters who do most of the objecting to ID laws- as it is typically those voters that get involved in just about any policy fight)
Good luck with that. Every so often it is suggested that voters should verify their identity when going to the polls. Just presenting a drivers license, passport, state ID or social security card should suffice. It's a similar policy as in many European countries. And every time, there is a huge number of people who oppose it. A very surprising amount of otherwise reasonable people fight tooth and nail against any forms of verification.