Explain Like I'm 5 (ELI5)

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ELI5 why do people in USA need to register to vote? (programming.dev)

submitted 3 weeks ago by verstra@programming.dev to c/eli5@lemmy.world

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I'd expect the state to have a list of all its citizens and their basic personal info (age) which could be used to determine their eligibility for voting. In my country, we get a "invitation" to the vote, with your voter station and info on how to change it.

Instead, I'm seeing posts about USA's "voter rolls", which are sometimes purged, which prevents people from voting. Isn't this an attack on the voting system and democracy itself?

So why doesn't USA have a list of voters? Are they stupid?

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[–] AA5B@lemmy.world 2 points 3 weeks ago

That’s where things get crazy since the local implementation is local.

My state makes it easy to register to vote: automatic when getting or renewing a drivers license or id. We have a reliable system, and many polling stations, and everyone gets a mailer for early/mail-in voting. For me voting has always been walk a couple blocks to my neighborhood elementary school and walk back, either before or after work. There’s never much of a line so it takes a couple minutes, and polls are open the maximum time so you can vote despite work.

Some of the stories coming from other states are as alien to me as they probably are to you. How could there be one drop off location for early votes for the entire city of Houston? How can some localities get away with so few machines and so few locations that there are lines? How can someone stay out of jail if they’re purging voter rolls just before an election or without due diligence? How is there even a big line in the hot sun such that someone can make a big deal of providing water to people trying to vote?