Trump is in the news again lying about nonexistent voter fraud and claiming that “no other election security measures pending in Washington should move forward unless voter ID laws are addressed first.”
I’m under no illusions that this man has morals, issues he cares about, or any knowledge about election integrity.
HOWEVER
Is this a place where there is a deal to be made?
So I’m asking: folks who know these issues better, just as a thought experiment and mental exercise, WOULD it be worth it for Democrats across the country to trade, let’s just say, national voter ID laws in a package of legislation to modernize election integrity that ALSO included:
- national automatic voter registration beginning at age 16
- national same-day voting
- national voter-verified paper ballot requirements
- national postage-paid absentee balloting
- reimplementation of key sections of the Voting Rights Act
- criminal penalties for election misinformation
If all these Democratic priorities (most taken from HB1) were, hypothetically, to be enacted — thus increasing and broadening voter turnout (among other outcomes), alongside a key Republican priority of requiring voter ID — likely dampening (for some groups) voter turnout, would you see a net positive or net negative for democracy and for election modernization writ large?
If the bulleted list above is incomplete, are there any additional items that, if added, would make it attractive enough to consider a National Voter ID measure?
Or, from a marketing perspective, even if you don’t support any such compromise, is there a bluff to be called here — crafting a compromise measure we could live with for the sole purpose of putting it forward, calling it a common-sense compromise, gathering public approval (which would seem quite easy) and watch #MoscowMitch et al try to explain why they are opposing yet another popular reform?