Voter ID

[madwullie]

Can't see a topic so thought I'd start one. 

Looks like compulsory voter id is getting sneaked into law in the coming year or so. Apparently to cut down on voter fraud which doesn't really exist as far as I can tell. 

Pretty controversial atm in the US as it is being used as a means to disenfranchise poor and minority voters. Is this just another copy / paste of GOP policies from our own cuddly fascists, or is it an acceptable way to legitimise the voting system. 

Over to you, P&B

[Melanius Mullarkey]

#torycunts

This has absolutely nothing to do with voter fraud and everything to do with national ID cards.

And probably getting the OF colts into the SPFL.

 

[Dunfermline Don]

I am pretty sure it is designed to facilitate compulsory ID cards being introduced.
If you don’t have a passport or drivers license the Govt will provide a free ID card so they can’t be accused of discriminating against people who can’t afford either of these.
After a while it gets rolled out to the rest of the population and no one protests because it also doubles as a Covid passport.

[Dan Steele]

A great idea*. Voter fraud is clearly running out of control. And the Electoral Commission has the evidence. 

*Of course it's not.

 

In 2018, there was no evidence of large-scale electoral fraud.

Of the 266 cases that were investigated by the police, one led to a conviction, and two suspects accepted police cautions.

In 2017, there was one conviction and eight suspects accepted police cautions.

[John Lambies Doos]

So, queens speech today.
Voters ID, likely to put lower income classes off voting...
Abolish Fixed Parliament Act. Johnson back for GE in 2023.
Judicial Reviews. Reduce interference of courts in political decisions. Very topical just now.


Tory scum

[GordonS]

13 minutes ago, Dunfermline Don said:

I am pretty sure it is designed to facilitate compulsory ID cards being introduced.
If you don’t have a passport or drivers license the Govt will provide a free ID card so they can’t be accused of discriminating against people who can’t afford either of these.
After a while it gets rolled out to the rest of the population and no one protests because it also doubles as a Covid passport.

I really don't think so, the Tories have never had any interest in compulsory ID cards and Johnson in particular has always opposed them. It's just good old-fashioned voter suppression. In their heart of hearts they don't believe poor people should be allowed to vote anyway.

Anyone in favour of compulsory photo ID for voting in GB is either evil or a moron. There's not a credible basis for supporting it and the evidence is absolutely unequivocal that it would do vastly more harm than any possible good.

[GordonS]

1 minute ago, John Lambies Doos said:

Judicial Reviews. Reduce interference of courts in political decisions. Very topical just now.
 

This one is genuinely terrifying. For a huge range of public law there is literally no way of making the government obey the law than through judicial review. They can just break the law and there would be nothing anyone can do about it. Hand our money to their mates? Give planning permission to their buddies to build anything anywhere? Detain immigrants without even a hearing? There would be nothing to stop them. It's how you end the rule of law.

These people are scum and everyone who votes for them is scum. 

[Sherrif John Bunnell]

A blatant move to get some of those pesky poor and BAME folk off of the electoral register. Straight out of the Trump playbook.

[Melanius Mullarkey]

Suppose it keeps the good British people of Hartlepool happy. 

 

[WhiteRoseKillie]

It's quite simply another hurdle placed in the way of disadvantaged people exercising their democratic right. When there's no measurable problem, you have to question the real intent of the "solution" - and this one is so blatantly obvious, I'm thinking of starting a wee business selling pitchforks and torches. As Gordon S says above - this shitshow has gone on long enough. Get yer shit together , Scotland, and leave this sordid little kleptocracy. 

Oh, and leave a light on for me and the rest of the reverse diaspora who'll be trailing up the M6 and A1.

[Salt n Vinegar]

1 minute ago, John Lambies Doos said:

So, queens speech today.
Voters ID, likely to put lower income classes off voting...
Abolish Fixed Parliament Act. Johnson back for GE in 2023.
Judicial Reviews. Reduce interference of courts in political decisions. Very topical just now.


Tory scum

I know that most folk around here have the same tolerance for Tories as I do - a level insignificantly far away from zero - but I don't mind the Tories changing or abolishing the FTPA.  BoJo calls an early election, annihilates Labour again in England, Tories rack up circa 100 seat majority. SNP win huge majority of Scottish seats.  Support for independence - even from folk like nice but dim Labour supporters - increases. 

The Act wasn't in the 2010 Tory manifesto and was only introduced as a sop to the coalition hungry LibDems.  Now they are as relevant in Westminster as they are in Scotland, the LibDems democratic aspirations can be safely ignored. 

It would be awful for the average Joe in England but an early election and a Tory thumping win would be a present for those wanting Scottish independence and demonstrate to "Scottish Labour" the pointlessness of their existence until independence is achieved.  (All IMO of course, except the history bit) 

[GordonS]

7 minutes ago, Salt n Vinegar said:

I know that most folk around here have the same tolerance for Tories as I do - a level insignificantly far away from zero - but I don't mind the Tories changing or abolishing the FTPA.  BoJo calls an early election, annihilates Labour again in England, Tories rack up circa 100 seat majority. SNP win huge majority of Scottish seats.  Support for independence - even from folk like nice but dim Labour supporters - increases. 

The Act wasn't in the 2010 Tory manifesto and was only introduced as a sop to the coalition hungry LibDems.  Now they are as relevant in Westminster as they are in Scotland, the LibDems democratic aspirations can be safely ignored. 

It would be awful for the average Joe in England but an early election and a Tory thumping win would be a present for those wanting Scottish independence and demonstrate to "Scottish Labour" the pointlessness of their existence until independence is achieved.  (All IMO of course, except the history bit) 

Yup, I don't have a problem with that one at all - but mostly because it was impossible that it could work in practice. It's was always the case that a government could call an election any time it liked by passing a one clause Bill to amend the FTPA, so it was barely worth the goat skin it was written on.

It's the same reason why federalism is impossible in the UK too - the supremacy of parliament means it can always be repealed, entirely defeating the point. Other countries have real constitutions while we're locked into a dysfunctional system that predates democracy altogether.

[John Lambies Doos]

I know that most folk around here have the same tolerance for Tories as I do - a level insignificantly far away from zero - but I don't mind the Tories changing or abolishing the FTPA.  BoJo calls an early election, annihilates Labour again in England, Tories rack up circa 100 seat majority. SNP win huge majority of Scottish seats.  Support for independence - even from folk like nice but dim Labour supporters - increases. 
The Act wasn't in the 2010 Tory manifesto and was only introduced as a sop to the coalition hungry LibDems.  Now they are as relevant in Westminster as they are in Scotland, the LibDems democratic aspirations can be safely ignored. 
It would be awful for the average Joe in England but an early election and a Tory thumping win would be a present for those wanting Scottish independence and demonstrate to "Scottish Labour" the pointlessness of their existence until independence is achieved.  (All IMO of course, except the history bit) 

I would most certainly agree that it helps our cause...but Johnson is doing it purely to help his cause

[Dawson Park Boy]

Voter ID isn’t a topic I know much about but I haven’t heard of much fraud taking place in Scotland.

I have heard of fraud in certain Midlands and London areas but how prevalent it is, I don’t know.

However, in principle, I don’t think it should be too easy to vote as the right to vote is an important privilege and shouldn’t be looked on lightly.

At the risk of being branded ‘evil and a moron’ Ill state that I think it needs to be made such that at least some effort is required to exercise that privilege. We use postal voting but maybe that’s too easy and we should be made to attend in person unless we were away or through Illness.

Ideologically, I’m certainly not against any move to tighten things up.

[WhiteRoseKillie]

33 minutes ago, Dawson Park Boy said:

Voter ID isn’t a topic I know much about but I haven’t heard of much fraud taking place in Scotland.

I have heard of fraud in certain Midlands and London areas but how prevalent it is, I don’t know.

However, in principle, I don’t think it should be too easy to vote as the right to vote is an important privilege and shouldn’t be looked on lightly.

At the risk of being branded ‘evil and a moron’ Ill state that I think it needs to be made such that at least some effort is required to exercise that privilege. We use postal voting but maybe that’s too easy and we should be made to attend in person unless we were away or through Illness.

Ideologically, I’m certainly not against any move to tighten things up.

So, how to make sure that a citizen should be enfranchised, then? A multiple-choice "How British are YOU?" quiz? Proof of solvency? A dulux colour comparison chart?

You're either at it, a complete cúnt, or both. I'm leaning towards the latter. 

[doulikefish]

Lords will block it...hopefully 

[madwullie]

Why should voting be made more difficult. 

In any normal democracy the more people who vote the better, so surely it follows that the easier it is to vote the better

[NotThePars]

56 minutes ago, Dawson Park Boy said:

Voter ID isn’t a topic I know much about but I haven’t heard of much fraud taking place in Scotland.

I have heard of fraud in certain Midlands and London areas but how prevalent it is, I don’t know.

However, in principle, I don’t think it should be too easy to vote as the right to vote is an important privilege and shouldn’t be looked on lightly.

At the risk of being branded ‘evil and a moron’ Ill state that I think it needs to be made such that at least some effort is required to exercise that privilege. We use postal voting but maybe that’s too easy and we should be made to attend in person unless we were away or through Illness.

Ideologically, I’m certainly not against any move to tighten things up.

You'll be fucked if it's an intelligence test then you dopey c**t.

[GordonS]

Could anyone explain the merits of making voting more difficult?

Are there any other areas of civic life that we should make less convenient for absolutely no purpose whatsoever? How about making it so you can only pay your council tax in rubles?

In fact, one lesson from this election might be that turnout was higher because more folk were around on polling day, so maybe we should move to weekend voting like most of Europe does.

[John Lambies Doos]

Voter ID isn’t a topic I know much about but I haven’t heard of much fraud taking place in Scotland.
I have heard of fraud in certain Midlands and London areas but how prevalent it is, I don’t know.
However, in principle, I don’t think it should be too easy to vote as the right to vote is an important privilege and shouldn’t be looked on lightly.
At the risk of being branded ‘evil and a moron’ Ill state that I think it needs to be made such that at least some effort is required to exercise that privilege. We use postal voting but maybe that’s too easy and we should be made to attend in person unless we were away or through Illness.
Ideologically, I’m certainly not against any move to tighten things up.

You evil moron