Post #2406173

2026-05-07 11:24 UTC

@maccath@phpc.social @adactio@mastodon.social In Austria you need to be identifiable to vote, but it can even be someone knowing and confirming your identity AFAIK. But I definitely cannot just walk in and vote for any name I say. So I just read a name from the postbox of a building, go there in the early morning and have an extra vote? I mean I am also very anti government data hoarding, but having a way to identify a citizen feels like a basic need. How does that work going to the doctor? Or opening a bank account?

Replies (2)

@maccath@phpc.social 2026-05-07 11:29

@kraftner@mastodon.social @adactio@mastodon.social We have a 'national insurance number' and birth certificates to prove our identities to doctors, banks and the government, but they are not photographic. The only photographic ID generally available to us are passports and drivers licences. Both cost time and money to procure, and many people can't get a learner drivers licence because they are medically unfit to drive. 2% of Brits have no photographic ID whatsoever because they don't drive or travel.

Open ##2406174
@maccath@phpc.social 2026-05-07 11:35

@kraftner@mastodon.social @adactio@mastodon.social I myself never held any photographic ID until I was past the age of 18 (thus eligible to vote) and tried to enrol at university. I had been accepted but could not enrol because they said I needed photographic ID. I had not heard of such a requirement until that very moment. I was granted temporary enrolment and given a month to find ID. I did not drive and had never travelled abroad. A passport was an expense that I could hardly afford - over £100, with a 3 week turnaround.

Open ##2406177