Matt WilcoxAug 12, 2024

Do Americans realise how absolutely insane the very concept of “purging a voter registration list” is? You have to *register to vote*? What are you even talking about?

Are you a citizen? Then you should automatically get a vote. There isn’t anything to administer. You live there. The government serves you; not you it. Voting isn’t supposed to be a privilege, or reward.

The obvious abuse vector that any system other than “all citizens vote” becomes is astounding.

Show threadMatt WilcoxAug 12, 2024

“Well what about XyZ?”

Did I stutter? *all* citizens. You all pay taxes, you all live together, choices made by gov effect all of you. So you all get a say. Automatically. Nothing should make any persons voice not count. Yes that includes criminals. ALL get a vote.

For a self proclaimed world leading democracy, so many of the systems in play seem very far removed from that bold claim and much more “keep the current rich white guys in power” encoded in the system as a whole.

Show threadDamkinaAug 12, 2024
@mattwilcox In theory I agree, how does it work with folks when they move and need to vote for local/state offices & issues? Do they use your driver’s license or non-driver ID address as your registration?
So many Republican controlled states here have made #VoterID imperative for being able to vote. How does it work when you move in your neck of the woods?
Show threadredzimski.dev
@damkina @mattwilcox here in Poland you're automatically registered to vote where you live once you turn 18. You living there must be registered. If you want to vote anywhere else, you pick a polling station of your choosing and you can register to vote there through a website up to a week or so before elections. Free of charge, takes 5min. You can also get a paper proving you have rights to vote in the place you live and take it with you wherever, in case you don't know where you'll be
Aug 13, 2024 at 6:15amWeb
Show threadredzimski.devAug 13, 2024
@damkina @mattwilcox 2/ on elections day. There's some voting fraud possible as the officials should take the document after you cast your vote but it's so rarely used they often don't know they're supposed to and you could take it to vote elsewhere. If you're elderly or disabled, you can appoint someone to vote in your name or mail in your vote, if you're abroad you can vote in an embassy. There are polling stations in prisons, nursing homes, hospitals etc.
Show threadredzimski.devAug 13, 2024
@damkina @mattwilcox 3/ And the election is always on Sunday from early morning to late evening or until the last person in line, so as many people have a day off or time to vote. Last year a polling station in Wrocław was opened for ~5h until 3AM after election ended to process everyone who got in line until the end of the election. Local pizza place provided them with food and drinks.
Show threadredzimski.devAug 13, 2024

@damkina @mattwilcox 4/ In the end, the goal in democracy is to have a fair, but popular election - we want to get as many people to vote as possible. Policies that seem normal in the US are outrageous if you look at it from this perspective.

And if that sounds weird, in Belgium you're forced to vote - if you don't, you get a fine.