Why Not Have a Federal Thumbprint Database for Voting?

So the #GOP and #Republicans claim that they want a Voter ID law, but Democrats are pushing back on this claiming it will disenfranchise voters who don't have ID

Which is ridiculous. Almost every other industrialized country requires ID to vote at almost any level of election. People get disenfranchized as they move from state to state. They leave a state without deregistering, register in the new state, and then end up being listed twice and people like Trump go off shouting about voter fraud because some states end up with more voters registered than people who live there.

A simple solution seems to be a Federal, centralized database of voters, accessed by any state for local rolls. People could register with a thumbprint

This would have the additional advantage of being able to vote from any cell phone with a fingerprint scanner, cause a locally loaded app could confirm that it's you voting

Election Day should either be a holiday every 4 years, or should be held on weekends. The idea of having it on a Tuesday was good in 1776 due to timing of Church and Farmers' Markets, but makes absolutely no sense in 2020

Unfortunately, because Republicans have spent the last 50 years suppressing the vote and making it as difficult as possible for people to vote (including still having the elections on Tuesdays, which is advantageous for rural farmers but not for urban workers), this sort of simple idea will never, ever pass.

a reply to: babybunnies

It would also force people to give their thumbprint.

Fingerprints are not as unique as once believed.

Fingerprints, such as thumbprints, can also be faked, cheaply, easily, and for purposes like use with cellphones, accurately.

A more certain means of identifying people as qualified voters would be a national DNA registry.

But, as leery as I am of the prospect of my fingerprints/thumbprint being in some national data bank; the idea that my DNA might be in such a database absolutely horrified me.

a reply to: babybunnies

A simple solution seems to be a Federal, centralized database of voters, accessed by any state for local rolls. People could register with a thumbprint

This would have the additional advantage of being able to vote from any cell phone with a fingerprint scanner, cause a locally loaded app could confirm that it's you voting.

Would that be OK for Democrats?

After all, are they not the ones that think minorities are too stupid to get an ID in the first place so asking for identification is "disenfranchising" the bussloads of people the Democrats send around to vote multiple times under different names that they have ballot harvested?

Your OP literally contradicted itself... Republicans want to have a voter ID, Democrats don't like the idea so it's the Republican's fault.

Wha?

~confuzzled~

voting should be done with crypto currency on the blockchain

a reply to: babybunnies

Do you think a national fingerprint database for voting is a good idea or a bad idea?

Election Day should either be a holiday every 4 years

It should. Some states have a statute that employees be given time to vote, however well that works.

a reply to: babybunnies

eh dont think voting via cell phone would be wise, i mean think of the younger generation voting for the older on by just getting them to put a thumb print on a phone and having the younger people decide who to vote for, say some one that works at an old folks home or a home for the disabled and just goes around voting for every one else just way too much room for abuse.

most dont want to willingly give more data/info to the government either so dont see that working on civil liberties aspects alone .

as to your other points dont employers have to give you time off to vote? www.nolo.com...

and why every 4 years instead of every election cycle? do you think the senate and house do not matter? as they dont always line up (midterms)

and as a final aside with the various leaks out of the federal/state government (remember when ccw holders addresses were leaked?) you don't think a database of who voted for who and when could be abused if leaked to the media in these fractured and partisan times we have today?

picture the head line from buzzfeed: see which of your neighbors voted for trump/republicans so you know who to shun!

or from fox: here are the liberal cucks in your neighborhood who hate America and how to find them!

waaaaaaaaay tooo much possibility for abuse.

just make basic ID cards free and that would stop the "muh vote suppression" arguments

I will not be sharing any biometric data with a corrupt government.

Nothing wrong with unique id, but genetic material or fingerprints does not belong in the hands of the govt for non-criminals. A nice chipped id card with a picture would suffice. In fact, a drivers license could contain the chip for those who have a DL and a free card for those who don't. But that's racist somehow.

a reply to: babybunnies

At the apartments where I live we used to have problems with people who aren't tenants (who were either previous tenants or friends with tenants) getting the access code to get into the laundry room and gym, some just using the facilities, some robbing, some vandalizing. Management put in a print scanner and anyone who wanted to use the facilities without going through the clubhouse during office hours had to get a print scan (finger or thumb of your choosing) and use the print scanner to gain entry. Voila! No more unauthorized use of facilities, no more robbing, no more vandalism!

It might not be the perfect solution to stopping voter fraud but it could go a very long way toward cutting down the numbers!

a reply to: babybunnies

It's not a good idea because it would cost huge amounts of money and voter fraud is simply not a problem. Anyone who has ever studied has concluded it's not a problem because it doesn't happen very much. People are barely motivated to vote once!

The bigger problem is voter suppression where millions of people are prevented from voting because political shenanigans.

Jim Crow Steals Election in North Carolina’s 9th Congressional District

And gerrymandering:

Democrats Should Be Talking About How Republicans Have Rigged the Maps

If Republicans did not game the system they would never get elected. It's all legal of course. But there's no way the people in power are going to let the poor have a voice in this country.

a reply to: dfnj2015

It's not a good idea because it would cost huge amounts of money and voter fraud is simply not a problem. Anyone who has ever studied has concluded it's not a problem because it doesn't happen very much. People are barely motivated to vote once!

I think you meant to say that voter fraud isn't a problem with Democrats.

They are just fine with it!!!

Here's an interactive map for you to see how many instances of fraud were prosecuted in your state...

Voter Fraud Map Page

And for the record, you would look less stupid if you searched "Democrat Gerrymandering".

Both parties do it all the time because it's legal.

The headlines of the future would describe the Chicago phenomenon of every buried person missing thumbs. Eventually San Francisco would be populated by more homeless thumbs than actual people and tiny houses would take on a whole new meaning, built for thumbs in mind

Encrypted Universal Biometric Id
Basically the government only needs a release form to share DMV fingerprints, between whats on file at the DMV, whats in the military & criminal justice databases (prints, DNA), and of course the norotiously bad idea facial recognition - it's not like the information doesn't exist.

What doesn't exist is an encrypted, hardware oriented method to generate a comparison, since you really don't want to be storing optical information. BTW, the EUBI accommodates all forms of biometric identifiers before encrytion, ensuring that there's no problems like the individual lost his/her/etc. eye/arm/finger/face/DNA.

Encrypted Biometric Universal Id (EUBI) coming to a grant proposal in your country soon.

ganjoa

It might be profitable for undertakers to sell thumbs for voting.

a reply to: babybunnies

I don't know that the thumbprint would help much, but I do believe it should be a national holiday, preferably 2 days actually, and/or 24 hours.

As it is, voting is designed to be most accessible to people without jobs (whether they be retired or just jobless.) I know there's early and absentee options, but I want to be able to vote in person, and the way its set up now, I am unable to.

#WorkingMensSuffrageNow

originally posted by: rickymouse
It might be profitable for undertakers to sell thumbs for voting.

Hmm...might be worth investing in cigar cutters!

The biggest problem vis-a-vis voting issues in the US is the 2 Party System. The US population has been successfully split in two, each “side” having been turned into what amounts to rabid fans routing for a football team. The “team” becomes more important than working together to actually solve problems. Yo NOTE - if you’re first reaction to that statement is to think something accusatory about the other “side”, IMO you are a victim of your “side’s” propaganda. The 2 Party System has FAILED IMO - it certainly has not failed the career politicians, or the lobbyists, or the bureaucrats - but it has failed the American People.
Let’s make a statement about voting that both “sides” should be able to agree on (because every politician says they’re for it - on both sides): “We want to ensureFree and Fair Elections” - are we agreed? Now, let’s talk about solutions to make this a reality.
The ONLY answer to ensure free and fair elections in the US involves reworking/enacting several pieces of legislation, as follows:
(1) Voter ID laws - MUST be mandatory. Most prevalent legal objection to this type of law has been the cost of obtaining an ID (including the documentation required to obtain an ID - birth certificate, etc.) being equivalent to a “Poll Tax” which is illegal. Possible solutions: make obtaining an ID (incl the cost of obtaining proper supporting documentation) free to all. The cost would be a fraction of providing “free healthcare” or “free college” for all. Second - if we do move to Medicare for all, this type of program WILL require a Medicare card of some sort (This Medicare Card will becomes a de facto “National ID Card” - which would be free as well). This could be an opportunity to replace/verify and scrub the voter rolls. Once the Voter rolls are purged, should be a relatively simple matter to keep them updated.
(2) ALL “same day” voter registration laws must be ruled unconstitutional
(3) ALL “Vote Harvesting” laws must be ruled unconstitutional
(NOTE - IMO Those who say “voter fraud is never been proven to be a problem” are either don’t realize that - since this practice is LEGAL in certain States - isn’t part of the vast majority of “investigations” into voter fraud or they are okay with it because their “side” benefits from it)
(4) Gerrymandering - stop all “redrawing” of districts, regardless of population. Either take all districts back to the original layout from 1911 when the House was set at 435 members, or freeze all districts at their current state.
(5) Change All Election Days to Friday thru Sunday - and make Friday a Holiday - mandating that ALL workers be given ONE of those days off to vote. Absentee ballots must be received, verified and those names scrubbed from the voting rolls BEFORE Election Weekend. Election Weekend should be the first weekend in September instead of in November.
(6) Mandate that ALL Officials involved in ANY election cannot have ANY Affiliation with a Political Party or be a donor to same.
(7) Ensure that Constitutional Principles like the Electoral College are preserved.
(8) To ensure you TRULY have 3 Completely Separate and Equal Branches of Government that TRULY act
to serve as a system of Checks and Balances, it should be written into law that the President of the United States MUST be an Independent - with no affiliation with any political Party. If you are to lead ALL Americans, and be looking SOLELY for their benefit - you cannot have your “Party’s” interests as a factor. You MUST be completely objective and impartial. This would be the single best thing that ever happened to the US.
Now, the next suggestion goes beyond just voting laws, is separate from the above suggestions, is aspirational (representing my opinion of the “ideal” system) but is suggested to REALLY fix the overall political system in the US:
Outlaw Political Parties. If you remove the “teams”, you remove the impetus to “win” for political purposes over doing what’s right for the Country. This would take off the Party chains and allow for open debate about ideas - wins” would be as a group of individuals acting together for the greater good- as originally intended- instead of towing a Party Line. Discuss.....

a reply to: babybunnies

This would be discrimination against people who have lost their arms, or were born without arms, and furthering their dismay at general society whilst reminding them of their obvious physical impediment.

Better to just embed a chip into a vital organ that a scanner can read when entering a polling booth.

Thumbs...

originally posted by: Metallicus
I will not be sharing any biometric data with a corrupt government.

Why? What are you hiding? You're obviously a culprit of some devious goings on.

if you had nothing to hide, why surely you'd give your biometrics freely.

*shifty eyes*