More and more the left is pushing for things like vaccine passports, or proof of vaccination. Those very same people completely reject the idea of voter ID laws on the alleged basis that they are inherently racist.
The premise that voter ID laws are racist rests on the idea that minorities are less able to afford state issued photo IDs.
Left wing news outlets like the Washington Post have published articles about digital vaccine passports that can be stored on one’s phone.
This same outlet published an article headlined “Getting a photo ID so you can vote is easy. Unless you’re poor, black, Latino or elderly.”
If minorities are too poor to afford a state issued ID, how could we expect those same people to afford a cellphone? How could they obtain a cellphone in the first place? Many cellphone service providers require proof of ID.
Many argue that DMVs are more sparse in areas dominated by minorities, but surely if their area doesn’t have a Department of Motor Vehicles, it also wouldn’t have a tech store that sells cellphones.
The idea that voter ID laws are racist but vaccine passports aren’t is self defeating. They are two narratives that can’t coincide with each other while maintaining any logical consistency or intellectual honesty.
In a more expensive state like New York, the fee associated with a non-driver ID card is $9.00 for a person under the age of 65 with a birthday in the next 6 months. This ID lasts 4 years before it needs to be renewed again.
A smartphone capable of storing a vaccine passport would be well over $200 on the low end, and likely wouldn’t last 4 years before needing to be replaced.
Residents of the United States need ID to practice many freedoms. For example, staying at a hotel, flying on a passenger plane, buying alcohol, buying tobacco products, border crossing, medical visits, or opening a bank account. Citizens also need a photo ID in order to apply for any welfare program, renting/buying a house, buying/renting a car, getting married, buying a firearm, hunting, fishing, visiting a casino, picking up a prescription, donating blood, purchasing sharp items deemed dangerous by Walmart, purchasing fireworks and finally, when buying or selling stocks.
All of the above activities require photo ID, but the left doesn’t deem them racist and minorities accomplish them just fine.