Last week on "last week tonight with John Oliver" the main investigative segment of the satirical news show was on voter ID laws. For those of you abroad, in the US you don't have to prove you are who you say you are in order to go vote. You can just go, give the person your street address, and your name, and they'll cross you off as having voted.  I've always found this a little odd, that in the US we are essentially voting on the honor system. Whatever, good for us for being so trusting.

In principle I am in favor of voter ID laws, as a way of keeping honest people honest, however there really isn't any statistically significant voter fraud happening.  The only fraud (and dishonesty) that is occurring is at the political level.  People want to enact voter ID laws in order to actually prevent people from voting and basically circumventing the democratic process.  Getting an ID in the US isn't easy or cheap.  If you don't drive, if you don't travel, and if you don't drink, then you almost don't have a way of getting an ID.  Most people use a driver's license, a liquor ID, or a passport to identify themselves.  There is no general ID (which we should have), and it should be free for citizens. Obtaining a liquor ID in Massachusetts costs $25. an MA driver's license cost $50, and a passport $140. That is if you have all the paperwork you need and you aren't discriminated against (like the woman in the video).

I compare this to my experience obtaining my Greek national ID card a few years back.  After some back and forth I obtained my Greek citizenship as well, so I went to go get an ID. All I needed was my record of birth (not a birth certificate since it was a US one and not a Greek one, the record of birth confirms citizenship regardless of where you were born), and a witness that has a Greek ID card already that can basically vouch for you.  The cost is €10 ($11 as of today).  That's basically it! Getting my Greek ID card, with all the problems that Greece has with government bureaucracies is cheaper and easier compared to the US.

Sometimes it's amazing that we call ourselves a democracy ;-)