Won't "vaccine passports" affect poorer/"blacker" people more (a la Voter ID)?

Politics & Elections
21

I think ID should be free. Living without (sufficient) ID is a huge hardship, though it seems to be a poverty issue rather than a racial issue.

Some years ago I lost my birth certificate. I was born in a different province so I couldn’t just walk to an office. Getting a new one wasn’t free, but I could simply mail a copy of my ID with a cheque. A month or two later, I got my birth certificate, and I locked it up so I don’t lose it again. While this was a long wait, I didn’t have to take time off of work to get it, so in a way it took less time. This would be a big deal if I worked for low pay/piece pay (so couldn’t afford to lose hours) and would mean virtually nothing if I was getting paid by salary.

(In Canada, you can mail in passport documents to get one. However in Ontario getting a driver’s license or equivalent or a health card requires showing up at a government office 9-5. The health card is free though.)

I think the suggestion isn’t necessarily that voter fraud is at all common so everyone needs to present ID, but it does shut down the “we don’t know if that voter is who they said they were” argument. Whether that’s a valid suggestion is another story. But to my way of thinking, ID is so important that everyone should have it, and any barriers to getting it should be eliminated. If those barriers were eliminated, I wouldn’t expect many complaints about needing ID to vote since everyone would have ID.

22

Those cards are hardly proof of anything, btw. When I got mine, it had a sticker for the name and batch # of the vaccine, and a sticker with the name of the clinic.

The name and birthdate were blank, as was the vaccination date on the 2nd shot. Anyone could put whatever they want on that.

23

Certainly not most of them. Of the 10 closest per their locator, only 2 are 24 hours. None of the 10 are within walking distance, and there is no public transportation.

24

Yes, it’s definitely as hard to get to a Walgreens when it’s open as it is to get to the DMV. That is an excellent point you’re making.

25

They are sufficient proof for the people checking for vaccination status, at least right now and in the US.

26

I can’t believe he made such a fool of me.

27

I can’t believe you’re not too embarrassed to post here.

28

Which is silly. I could have put literally anyone’s name and birthdate. It’s not proof that Michael Mouse was vaccinated.

29

I don’t see how that is relevant to this thread at all.

30

I directly addressed YOUR claim that those cards are proof. They are not, by any reasonable understanding of the word “proof”.

31

Only 14% of Americans say they will definitely not get vaccinated. But this group is 69% white, compared with 7% Black and 12% Hispanic. Republicans make up 58% of this group, while Democrats account for 18%.

“From the beginning of the pandemic, we’ve seen political divides in attitudes towards COVID itself, not just the vaccines,” said Liz Hamel, director of KFF’s Public Opinion and Survey Research program.

32

Same thing with me (in NY State). I was able to send away for it. And at the same time I sent away for my lost Social Security Card. Both are now locked up in the fireproof safe at work (along with my Air Force discharge papers and life insurance paperwork).

33

The right to vote is considered such a fundamental right that no hinderance should be imposed that disenfranchises a US citizen’s exercise of that right. Start passing laws that disenfranchise a certain voting group and you are basically undermining our democracy and it is arguably an act of subversion to do so.

A vaccine passport by itself is just a document. Could it affect someone’s right to get a Big Mack at McDonalds? Yes it could, it is was actually a right to be able to buy a Big Mac. Is the ability to buy Big Mac a fundamental right, no it is not.

So there is that difference.

34

You were able to request a replacement Social Security card by mail? I had to go to the local SSA office and show my documents, after which the replacement card came in the mail.

35

^^^Yup. It was a few years ago. I might have had to send copies of some documents, but it was via mail.

36

You’re simply wrong. They are proof as far as the people checking vaccine status go.

When I vote, I just have to sign something. That’s sufficient proof for the election workers, even though many people would say it’s not proof of anything.

When I travel out of the country, I have to have a passport. Showing my driver’s license, birth certificate, signature, social security card, credit card bills, student ID, work ID, notarized statement from a judge, and so on and so forth, is not sufficient proof that I can leave the country.

What counts as proof varies from situation to situation.

37

I didn’t do that, nor was that my intention. I was pointing out that your blanket statement was factually incorrect.

38

I’m in favor of both vaccine passports and voter ID. And the passports have even more solid reason for them, being that unvaccinated people represent a serious health risk to everyone and themselves. Voter ID doesn’t put anyone’s health or life at stake.

So if it inconveniences minorities or poor people, well sorry, but the passport is what it has to be.

For the record, I’m actually in favor of an even more forceful approach than passports; I favor forcing everyone to get the jab whether they like it or not, unless they can prove extreme reason not to, such as an allergy or some condition.

39

I call it a “hyperbole”. But even so, it’s not factually incorrect since I didn’t say, or even suggest, that every Walgreens is open 24 hours a day. I was actually just referring to the two that you mentioned.

40

That’s be reasonable.