Bernie Sanders campaign kickoff.

ldent42

PJ_Soul said:

ldent42 said:

PJ_Soul said:

This is who I would vote for if I were American. Unless he really goes off the rails somehow, it would be a pretty easy choice for me. I really hope you're wrong about him being drowned out MayDay, but you're probably right. I don't feel like Americans are currently that open to change, no matter how positive it could be.

I think a significant part of the problem is that a lot of the people who would genuinely get behind this guy can't vote or just don't because they are disillusioned/disaffected and gave up a long time ago - or just can't get out of work/life to stand in line for a million years to vote. a majority of Americans are not going to know who Bernie Sanders is. That DOES NOT mean that he has zero chance though, because a majority of Americans don't vote.

It is a legal obligation of employers to allow their employees the time they need to vote. That includes the time it takes to line up and wait. So work should never be an excuse not to vote. As for life getting in the way.... that should only be a problem if people act as though there is no warning of an election. As it is, people could start planning to make the time to vote this very day. They have 1 year and 4 months to clear their schedule! So again, being too busy is a bad excuse IMO.
But of course you are absolutely right about voter apathy, and the democrats/left voters are way worse about this than republicans/right voters are. I don't really know why. I've got some ideas, but they are all incredibly unscientific and opinionated, lol..... I've got an idea though. Pearl Jam needs to have another cross-country tour to encourage people to get out to the polls.

these are both true points but not the way the real world works. again for people who would vote for Bernie it hits them harder. Remember that schools are closed on Election day so people with kids in public school have to get their kids taken care of which will almost always be more important to them than getting down to vote. Then they still gotta get to work, which unless they are very lucky isn't gonna be happy about them having to come in late or leave early to vote or deal with their kids. Yes I know that legally you're supposed to be allowed the time to vote, but legally you are also entitled to lunch breaks, overtime pay, and sick days and a LOT of people don't get any of that regardless of the law. That's why I keep saying people who would vote for Bernie cuz I'm talking about the working poor or working class or underprivileged or whatever the hell they are called. To me theyre just called people.

If you're like a manager or accountant or lawyer or some kind of thing then obviously it is likely to be different. If you are working as a store associate or receptionist or at a regular job like at a small-midsized business then its not that simple and trying to make into a personal accountability thing ain't really right.

PJ_Soul

Well parents can bring their kids to the polls with them. Or people can make arrangements with spouses or neighbors or whoever to switch off with watching the kids while the other goes to the polls. Whatever. There are dozens of options. I don't really think that kids are a good excuse at all. Again, there is 1 year and 4 months to make arrangements. If anyone tells me it's not realistic to be able to get to the polls because of child care, I'm calling bullshit. They just aren't trying (obviously illnesses and stuff like that are another story).
As for employers... if that's not what is happening when an employee requests it, then it's really easy to call whatever that area's labour governance body and report the employer. Just the threat of that would make 99% of stubborn employers back down. And being penalized for doing so is also illegal. From my perspective, it all comes down to the will of the voters.... It's 100% apathy (not just about voting, but also about worker's rights), not a work/life thing. I think mass apathy is at the foundation of a LOT of social problems. Low voter turn out is just one of them.

oftenreading

I agree with both PJ_Soul and Ident42. The day to day business of life can be overwhelming for many people, especially people with low paying jobs, young kids in tow, and other stressors, but these are the very people who really need to vote. Does the US not have advanced polls? In Canada we usually have at least a couple of weeks of advance polls set up at various times; some during the day, some in the evenings. Just about everyone can get to a polling station if they really want to.

ldent42

That's exactly the point I'm trying to make. The deck is stacked against most people here. I have no idea what advanced polls are. The only thing they have here is election day, definitely not few weeks. The one here is like 8-6 or 9-7. Something like that, it changes so I don't always know. There's also a weird thing about where you can vote. I don't know exactly how it works but it's something like you can only vote in your special place, so they do have absentee ballots but it's not for regular people its special circumstances. And you know you have to be an actual citizen to even be allowed vote. Without any felony convictions.
They can talk all the shit they want about "Get out the vote" but they make it very clear exactly who they want voting by making it incredibly difficult for certain groups to even go cast their vote.
PJ Soul don't believe me, and that's cool I respect that. It's a difficult thing to understand if you haven't lived in it or experienced it, so I don't blame her.

I read some good news though. In the observer they said that the nys board of elections said that BS can participate in the Dem primaries just that for him to be the candidate he needs Patterson's permission which is weird cuz i thought he was disgraced and hiding somewhere with his tail between his legs. But whatevs.

oftenreading

ldent42 said:

That's exactly the point I'm trying to make. The deck is stacked against most people here. I have no idea what advanced polls are. The only thing they have here is election day, definitely not few weeks. The one here is like 8-6 or 9-7. Something like that, it changes so I don't always know. There's also a weird thing about where you can vote. I don't know exactly how it works but it's something like you can only vote in your special place, so they do have absentee ballots but it's not for regular people its special circumstances. And you know you have to be an actual citizen to even be allowed vote. Without any felony convictions.
They can talk all the shit they want about "Get out the vote" but they make it very clear exactly who they want voting by making it incredibly difficult for certain groups to even go cast their vote.
PJ Soul don't believe me, and that's cool I respect that. It's a difficult thing to understand if you haven't lived in it or experienced it, so I don't blame her.

I read some good news though. In the observer they said that the nys board of elections said that BS can participate in the Dem primaries just that for him to be the candidate he needs Patterson's permission which is weird cuz i thought he was disgraced and hiding somewhere with his tail between his legs. But whatevs.

If there is no advance polling or absentee voting (except in limited circumstances), then I agree that the process of voting is being made unnecessarily onerous, possibly by design.

CH156378

BERNIEMANIA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

http://www.cnn.com/2015/07/04/politics/bernie-sanders-dudley-dudley-endorsement-new-hampshire/index.html

dignin

oftenreading said:

ldent42 said:

That's exactly the point I'm trying to make. The deck is stacked against most people here. I have no idea what advanced polls are. The only thing they have here is election day, definitely not few weeks. The one here is like 8-6 or 9-7. Something like that, it changes so I don't always know. There's also a weird thing about where you can vote. I don't know exactly how it works but it's something like you can only vote in your special place, so they do have absentee ballots but it's not for regular people its special circumstances. And you know you have to be an actual citizen to even be allowed vote. Without any felony convictions.
They can talk all the shit they want about "Get out the vote" but they make it very clear exactly who they want voting by making it incredibly difficult for certain groups to even go cast their vote.
PJ Soul don't believe me, and that's cool I respect that. It's a difficult thing to understand if you haven't lived in it or experienced it, so I don't blame her.

I read some good news though. In the observer they said that the nys board of elections said that BS can participate in the Dem primaries just that for him to be the candidate he needs Patterson's permission which is weird cuz i thought he was disgraced and hiding somewhere with his tail between his legs. But whatevs.

If there is no advance polling or absentee voting (except in limited circumstances), then I agree that the process of voting is being made unnecessarily onerous, possibly by design.

Advanced polling is the only way to go. It's just so damn civilized.

If they don't have it in the states that's a shame.

dignin

I also find it a little strange how many Americans seem to know so little about Sanders. I'm Canadian and feel like he's been on my radar for years......but I am a political junkie.

I thought he was cool, before he was cool....does that make me some kinda' poli-hipster?

PJ_Soul

dignin said:

I also find it a little strange how many Americans seem to know so little about Sanders. I'm Canadian and feel like he's been on my radar for years......but I am a political junkie.

I thought he was cool, before he was cool....does that make me some kinda' poli-hipster?

Haha, maybe! Although I always thought thst hipsters more think things are cool years after they were actually cool, not before, lol. If you were a poli-hipster you'd be talking about how awesome Reagan was.

bootlegger10

dignin said:

oftenreading said:

ldent42 said:

That's exactly the point I'm trying to make. The deck is stacked against most people here. I have no idea what advanced polls are. The only thing they have here is election day, definitely not few weeks. The one here is like 8-6 or 9-7. Something like that, it changes so I don't always know. There's also a weird thing about where you can vote. I don't know exactly how it works but it's something like you can only vote in your special place, so they do have absentee ballots but it's not for regular people its special circumstances. And you know you have to be an actual citizen to even be allowed vote. Without any felony convictions.
They can talk all the shit they want about "Get out the vote" but they make it very clear exactly who they want voting by making it incredibly difficult for certain groups to even go cast their vote.
PJ Soul don't believe me, and that's cool I respect that. It's a difficult thing to understand if you haven't lived in it or experienced it, so I don't blame her.

I read some good news though. In the observer they said that the nys board of elections said that BS can participate in the Dem primaries just that for him to be the candidate he needs Patterson's permission which is weird cuz i thought he was disgraced and hiding somewhere with his tail between his legs. But whatevs.

If there is no advance polling or absentee voting (except in limited circumstances), then I agree that the process of voting is being made unnecessarily onerous, possibly by design.

Advanced polling is the only way to go. It's just so damn civilized.

If they don't have it in the states that's a shame.

There is early voting in the US. Perhaps not in every municipality.

Gary Carter

dignin said:

I also find it a little strange how many Americans seem to know so little about Sanders. I'm Canadian and feel like he's been on my radar for years......but I am a political junkie.

I thought he was cool, before he was cool....does that make me some kinda' poli-hipster?

Many Americans aka sheep don't know who he is because both parties don't want you to know who he is. He doesn't represent the ho hum fucked up DC that both parties want, he truly represents change. Many Americans will know who he is when he kills Hillary in the debates.

No it doesn't make you poli-hipster, makes you sound knowledgeable and smart and in touch with your neighbor to the south. Sadly the average American isn't like you.

RiotZact

I'll be honest I only knew of him from Lewis Black talking about him a few times. I'm no politics expert but I pay attention more than most people that I know (which isn't saying much). It is sad how the two party system tries (and mostly succeeds apparently) to keep people like Sanders pushed out of the spotlight. Even if his campaign is unsuccessful I hope that seeing him on TV with thousands of followers can open peoples eyes to the fact that there is more than just Donkeys and Elephants out there.

PJ_Soul

bootlegger10 said:

dignin said:

oftenreading said:

ldent42 said:

That's exactly the point I'm trying to make. The deck is stacked against most people here. I have no idea what advanced polls are. The only thing they have here is election day, definitely not few weeks. The one here is like 8-6 or 9-7. Something like that, it changes so I don't always know. There's also a weird thing about where you can vote. I don't know exactly how it works but it's something like you can only vote in your special place, so they do have absentee ballots but it's not for regular people its special circumstances. And you know you have to be an actual citizen to even be allowed vote. Without any felony convictions.
They can talk all the shit they want about "Get out the vote" but they make it very clear exactly who they want voting by making it incredibly difficult for certain groups to even go cast their vote.
PJ Soul don't believe me, and that's cool I respect that. It's a difficult thing to understand if you haven't lived in it or experienced it, so I don't blame her.

I read some good news though. In the observer they said that the nys board of elections said that BS can participate in the Dem primaries just that for him to be the candidate he needs Patterson's permission which is weird cuz i thought he was disgraced and hiding somewhere with his tail between his legs. But whatevs.

If there is no advance polling or absentee voting (except in limited circumstances), then I agree that the process of voting is being made unnecessarily onerous, possibly by design.

Advanced polling is the only way to go. It's just so damn civilized.

If they don't have it in the states that's a shame.

There is early voting in the US. Perhaps not in every municipality.

Well there you go. No more excuses.

BinauralJam

He's going to be assassinated

F Me In The Brain

PJ_Soul said:

bootlegger10 said:

dignin said:

oftenreading said:

ldent42 said:

That's exactly the point I'm trying to make. The deck is stacked against most people here. I have no idea what advanced polls are. The only thing they have here is election day, definitely not few weeks. The one here is like 8-6 or 9-7. Something like that, it changes so I don't always know. There's also a weird thing about where you can vote. I don't know exactly how it works but it's something like you can only vote in your special place, so they do have absentee ballots but it's not for regular people its special circumstances. And you know you have to be an actual citizen to even be allowed vote. Without any felony convictions.
They can talk all the shit they want about "Get out the vote" but they make it very clear exactly who they want voting by making it incredibly difficult for certain groups to even go cast their vote.
PJ Soul don't believe me, and that's cool I respect that. It's a difficult thing to understand if you haven't lived in it or experienced it, so I don't blame her.

I read some good news though. In the observer they said that the nys board of elections said that BS can participate in the Dem primaries just that for him to be the candidate he needs Patterson's permission which is weird cuz i thought he was disgraced and hiding somewhere with his tail between his legs. But whatevs.

If there is no advance polling or absentee voting (except in limited circumstances), then I agree that the process of voting is being made unnecessarily onerous, possibly by design.

Advanced polling is the only way to go. It's just so damn civilized.

If they don't have it in the states that's a shame.

There is early voting in the US. Perhaps not in every municipality.

Well there you go. No more excuses.

if you register (by mail) you can vote with an absentee ballot, also by mail.

jeffbr

F Me In The Brain said:

PJ_Soul said:

bootlegger10 said:

dignin said:

oftenreading said:

ldent42 said:

That's exactly the point I'm trying to make. The deck is stacked against most people here. I have no idea what advanced polls are. The only thing they have here is election day, definitely not few weeks. The one here is like 8-6 or 9-7. Something like that, it changes so I don't always know. There's also a weird thing about where you can vote. I don't know exactly how it works but it's something like you can only vote in your special place, so they do have absentee ballots but it's not for regular people its special circumstances. And you know you have to be an actual citizen to even be allowed vote. Without any felony convictions.
They can talk all the shit they want about "Get out the vote" but they make it very clear exactly who they want voting by making it incredibly difficult for certain groups to even go cast their vote.
PJ Soul don't believe me, and that's cool I respect that. It's a difficult thing to understand if you haven't lived in it or experienced it, so I don't blame her.

I read some good news though. In the observer they said that the nys board of elections said that BS can participate in the Dem primaries just that for him to be the candidate he needs Patterson's permission which is weird cuz i thought he was disgraced and hiding somewhere with his tail between his legs. But whatevs.

If there is no advance polling or absentee voting (except in limited circumstances), then I agree that the process of voting is being made unnecessarily onerous, possibly by design.

Advanced polling is the only way to go. It's just so damn civilized.

If they don't have it in the states that's a shame.

There is early voting in the US. Perhaps not in every municipality.

Well there you go. No more excuses.

if you register (by mail) you can vote with an absentee ballot, also by mail.

It varies by state in the US. For example, Washington, Oregon and Colorado no longer have polling placing. All voting is done by mail. In Washington we receive our ballots and a voters' guide well ahead of election day. We can vote and mail in the ballot at any point up to election day. So there is no longer any excuse for not being able to get to the polls. I personally liked when people had to jump through a few hoops to get registered, and then to go to the polls, since I figured that weeded out the apathetic, who I don't care to have voting anyway. Now you can automatically be registered to vote when you get your drivers license, and you get your ballot in the mail. Most hurdles have been completely removed. If there are remaining hurdles to vote, they must be pretty low. There really isn't any excuse for not voting in our state.

F Me In The Brain

jeffbr said:

F Me In The Brain said:

PJ_Soul said:

bootlegger10 said:

dignin said:

oftenreading said:

ldent42 said:

That's exactly the point I'm trying to make. The deck is stacked against most people here. I have no idea what advanced polls are. The only thing they have here is election day, definitely not few weeks. The one here is like 8-6 or 9-7. Something like that, it changes so I don't always know. There's also a weird thing about where you can vote. I don't know exactly how it works but it's something like you can only vote in your special place, so they do have absentee ballots but it's not for regular people its special circumstances. And you know you have to be an actual citizen to even be allowed vote. Without any felony convictions.
They can talk all the shit they want about "Get out the vote" but they make it very clear exactly who they want voting by making it incredibly difficult for certain groups to even go cast their vote.
PJ Soul don't believe me, and that's cool I respect that. It's a difficult thing to understand if you haven't lived in it or experienced it, so I don't blame her.

I read some good news though. In the observer they said that the nys board of elections said that BS can participate in the Dem primaries just that for him to be the candidate he needs Patterson's permission which is weird cuz i thought he was disgraced and hiding somewhere with his tail between his legs. But whatevs.

If there is no advance polling or absentee voting (except in limited circumstances), then I agree that the process of voting is being made unnecessarily onerous, possibly by design.

Advanced polling is the only way to go. It's just so damn civilized.

If they don't have it in the states that's a shame.

There is early voting in the US. Perhaps not in every municipality.

Well there you go. No more excuses.

if you register (by mail) you can vote with an absentee ballot, also by mail.

It varies by state in the US. For example, Washington, Oregon and Colorado no longer have polling placing. All voting is done by mail. In Washington we receive our ballots and a voters' guide well ahead of election day. We can vote and mail in the ballot at any point up to election day. So there is no longer any excuse for not being able to get to the polls. I personally liked when people had to jump through a few hoops to get registered, and then to go to the polls, since I figured that weeded out the apathetic, who I don't care to have voting anyway. Now you can automatically be registered to vote when you get your drivers license, and you get your ballot in the mail. Most hurdles have been completely removed. If there are remaining hurdles to vote, they must be pretty low. There really isn't any excuse for not voting in our state.

Interesting, thanks. I share your feeling about apathetic voters!

PJ_Soul

F Me In The Brain said:

jeffbr said:

F Me In The Brain said:

PJ_Soul said:

bootlegger10 said:

dignin said:

oftenreading said:

ldent42 said:

That's exactly the point I'm trying to make. The deck is stacked against most people here. I have no idea what advanced polls are. The only thing they have here is election day, definitely not few weeks. The one here is like 8-6 or 9-7. Something like that, it changes so I don't always know. There's also a weird thing about where you can vote. I don't know exactly how it works but it's something like you can only vote in your special place, so they do have absentee ballots but it's not for regular people its special circumstances. And you know you have to be an actual citizen to even be allowed vote. Without any felony convictions.
They can talk all the shit they want about "Get out the vote" but they make it very clear exactly who they want voting by making it incredibly difficult for certain groups to even go cast their vote.
PJ Soul don't believe me, and that's cool I respect that. It's a difficult thing to understand if you haven't lived in it or experienced it, so I don't blame her.

I read some good news though. In the observer they said that the nys board of elections said that BS can participate in the Dem primaries just that for him to be the candidate he needs Patterson's permission which is weird cuz i thought he was disgraced and hiding somewhere with his tail between his legs. But whatevs.

If there is no advance polling or absentee voting (except in limited circumstances), then I agree that the process of voting is being made unnecessarily onerous, possibly by design.

Advanced polling is the only way to go. It's just so damn civilized.

If they don't have it in the states that's a shame.

There is early voting in the US. Perhaps not in every municipality.

Well there you go. No more excuses.

if you register (by mail) you can vote with an absentee ballot, also by mail.

It varies by state in the US. For example, Washington, Oregon and Colorado no longer have polling placing. All voting is done by mail. In Washington we receive our ballots and a voters' guide well ahead of election day. We can vote and mail in the ballot at any point up to election day. So there is no longer any excuse for not being able to get to the polls. I personally liked when people had to jump through a few hoops to get registered, and then to go to the polls, since I figured that weeded out the apathetic, who I don't care to have voting anyway. Now you can automatically be registered to vote when you get your drivers license, and you get your ballot in the mail. Most hurdles have been completely removed. If there are remaining hurdles to vote, they must be pretty low. There really isn't any excuse for not voting in our state.

Interesting, thanks. I share your feeling about apathetic voters!

YOu are automatically registered when you renew your driver's license? That's kind of weird. Here you're automatically registered when you do your taxes, which makes a lot more sense IMO. Everyone has to file taxes, but not everyone has a driver's license (I know there must be a way for those people, but that just doesn't seem as efficient). For those who don't file their taxes before an election, you can just register at the polling station.

F Me In The Brain

PJ_Soul said:

F Me In The Brain said:

jeffbr said:

F Me In The Brain said:

PJ_Soul said:

bootlegger10 said:

dignin said:

oftenreading said:

ldent42 said:

That's exactly the point I'm trying to make. The deck is stacked against most people here. I have no idea what advanced polls are. The only thing they have here is election day, definitely not few weeks. The one here is like 8-6 or 9-7. Something like that, it changes so I don't always know. There's also a weird thing about where you can vote. I don't know exactly how it works but it's something like you can only vote in your special place, so they do have absentee ballots but it's not for regular people its special circumstances. And you know you have to be an actual citizen to even be allowed vote. Without any felony convictions.
They can talk all the shit they want about "Get out the vote" but they make it very clear exactly who they want voting by making it incredibly difficult for certain groups to even go cast their vote.
PJ Soul don't believe me, and that's cool I respect that. It's a difficult thing to understand if you haven't lived in it or experienced it, so I don't blame her.

I read some good news though. In the observer they said that the nys board of elections said that BS can participate in the Dem primaries just that for him to be the candidate he needs Patterson's permission which is weird cuz i thought he was disgraced and hiding somewhere with his tail between his legs. But whatevs.

If there is no advance polling or absentee voting (except in limited circumstances), then I agree that the process of voting is being made unnecessarily onerous, possibly by design.

Advanced polling is the only way to go. It's just so damn civilized.

If they don't have it in the states that's a shame.

There is early voting in the US. Perhaps not in every municipality.

Well there you go. No more excuses.

if you register (by mail) you can vote with an absentee ballot, also by mail.

It varies by state in the US. For example, Washington, Oregon and Colorado no longer have polling placing. All voting is done by mail. In Washington we receive our ballots and a voters' guide well ahead of election day. We can vote and mail in the ballot at any point up to election day. So there is no longer any excuse for not being able to get to the polls. I personally liked when people had to jump through a few hoops to get registered, and then to go to the polls, since I figured that weeded out the apathetic, who I don't care to have voting anyway. Now you can automatically be registered to vote when you get your drivers license, and you get your ballot in the mail. Most hurdles have been completely removed. If there are remaining hurdles to vote, they must be pretty low. There really isn't any excuse for not voting in our state.

Interesting, thanks. I share your feeling about apathetic voters!

YOu are automatically registered when you renew your driver's license? That's kind of weird. Here you're automatically registered when you do your taxes, which makes a lot more sense IMO. Everyone has to file taxes, but not everyone has a driver's license (I know there must be a way for those people, but that just doesn't seem as efficient). For those who don't file their taxes before an election, you can just register at the polling station.

I think the same thing applies here, you dont have to do it at the DMV or have a DL. You can register somewhere else I believe but you cannot do it on the day of, you must register in advance. [I think this is due to voter fraud concerns.]

ldent42

PJ_Soul said:

F Me In The Brain said:

jeffbr said:

F Me In The Brain said:

PJ_Soul said:

bootlegger10 said:

dignin said:

oftenreading said:

ldent42 said:

That's exactly the point I'm trying to make. The deck is stacked against most people here. I have no idea what advanced polls are. The only thing they have here is election day, definitely not few weeks. The one here is like 8-6 or 9-7. Something like that, it changes so I don't always know. There's also a weird thing about where you can vote. I don't know exactly how it works but it's something like you can only vote in your special place, so they do have absentee ballots but it's not for regular people its special circumstances. And you know you have to be an actual citizen to even be allowed vote. Without any felony convictions.
They can talk all the shit they want about "Get out the vote" but they make it very clear exactly who they want voting by making it incredibly difficult for certain groups to even go cast their vote.
PJ Soul don't believe me, and that's cool I respect that. It's a difficult thing to understand if you haven't lived in it or experienced it, so I don't blame her.

I read some good news though. In the observer they said that the nys board of elections said that BS can participate in the Dem primaries just that for him to be the candidate he needs Patterson's permission which is weird cuz i thought he was disgraced and hiding somewhere with his tail between his legs. But whatevs.

If there is no advance polling or absentee voting (except in limited circumstances), then I agree that the process of voting is being made unnecessarily onerous, possibly by design.

Advanced polling is the only way to go. It's just so damn civilized.

If they don't have it in the states that's a shame.

There is early voting in the US. Perhaps not in every municipality.

Well there you go. No more excuses.

if you register (by mail) you can vote with an absentee ballot, also by mail.

It varies by state in the US. For example, Washington, Oregon and Colorado no longer have polling placing. All voting is done by mail. In Washington we receive our ballots and a voters' guide well ahead of election day. We can vote and mail in the ballot at any point up to election day. So there is no longer any excuse for not being able to get to the polls. I personally liked when people had to jump through a few hoops to get registered, and then to go to the polls, since I figured that weeded out the apathetic, who I don't care to have voting anyway. Now you can automatically be registered to vote when you get your drivers license, and you get your ballot in the mail. Most hurdles have been completely removed. If there are remaining hurdles to vote, they must be pretty low. There really isn't any excuse for not voting in our state.

Interesting, thanks. I share your feeling about apathetic voters!

YOu are automatically registered when you renew your driver's license? That's kind of weird. Here you're automatically registered when you do your taxes, which makes a lot more sense IMO. Everyone has to file taxes, but not everyone has a driver's license (I know there must be a way for those people, but that just doesn't seem as efficient). For those who don't file their taxes before an election, you can just register at the polling station.

Fun fact: I had tried to get my passport in 2008 and couldn't because I didn't have a driver's license. I told the lady at the post office how ridiculous that was cuz I had a non-driver's id and she can't possibly expect me to believe that only American citizens who can drive are allowed to leave the country. She told me to take it up with the state department if I had a problem with it. I shit you not. I spent an hour on the phone with the state department and got nowhere. It has been speculated that that's why I always get "additional screening" at the airport, but I dunno about that.