Harris Won 19 States in 2024, 17 Have No Voter ID Law

@TheOneyouwerewarnedabout Or an attempt to stop the harassment tactics to keep the voter turnout low?

@dancingtongue You ever open a bank account?

@sunsporter1649 I thought poll taxes were over. But yes, I have on multiple occasions.

@dancingtongue And wadda ya bet they asked you for an ID

@sunsporter1649 So only those of us who don't live paycheck to paycheck, have no need for a bank account, have no car to drive, have the right to vote? Sounds like a replacement for Poll Taxes.

@dancingtongue Then you must live way deep in the mountians and have no clue about elections

@sunsporter1649 Or work for minimum wage trying to survive in urban areas where housing is barely affordable for the rich, and hoping that public transit isn't totally gutted for lack of tax support.

@dancingtongue What does that have to do with acquiring ID?

@sunsporter1649 Photo ID is what we are discussing. A photo ID is no big deal for those of us above a certain basic subsistence level where bank accounts, driver's licenses, etc., are a part of daily life. But those barely getting along in life don't necessarily need photo ID's, yet the Constitution doesn't disqualify them from the right to vote. And they had to prove their citizenship and resident status when they registered to vote in the first place, where other documentation is possible.

Plus photo ID means you have to go to the polling place to vote, largely negating voting by mail which makes voting more accessible and increases turnout by legitimate voters which should be a goal. IMHO, it should be a requirement of citizenship like it is in Australia. And those pushing for photo ID and abolishing vote by mail, are frequently the same ones fighting to reduce and restrict the number of polling places to as few as possible and only in affluent areas.

The great irony is that those who "live way deep in the mountains" as you describe them frequently are the most aligned with MAGA's ideologies. I've lived there, and they are mostly rock-solid conservatives. Because believe it or not, they discuss elections, they have opinions, and they are fellow citizens and a democracy should represent all views.

@dancingtongue If poor people don't need photo id, how do they qualify for food stamps, medicare, medicade....

@sunsporter1649 Photo ID historically has not been required for food stamps; other ID has been. Photo ID for Medicaid and Medicare usually has been required in most states. But if you bothered to do research yourself, you would understand that illegal immigrants seldom avail themselves of these services for fear their false ID's will be detected and out them. The concept of them being a huge abuser of safety net programs is greatly exaggerated by those of you who recite the bullet point bumper sticker rhetoric without double checking. In actuality, they historically have helped fill the budget gaps for Social Security and Medicare because the payroll taxes are collected but the benefits aren't used.

@dancingtongue Last week, Congresswoman Young Kim (CA-40) sent a letter demanding answers from Gavin Newsom after the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) found California spent more than $1.3 billion in federal Medicaid dollars on non-emergency care for illegal immigrants.

According to CMS, California claimed federal Medicaid reimbursements for services that are explicitly prohibited under federal law. Medicaid funds may be used for emergency care regardless of immigration status; however, CMS auditors found California used federal dollars for non-emergency care for illegal aliens, in violation of longstanding eligibility rules.

“California just spent 1.3 billion taxpayer dollars on healthcare for illegal immigrants while seniors, disabled Americans, and low-income families are pushed to the back of the line,” said Rep. Young Kim. “While hardworking Americans were footing the bill, Gavin Newsom was galivanting around Switzerland following President Trump like a lost puppy. I’m demanding accountability from Governor Newsom and making sure the American taxpayer gets paid back what they’re due.”

Federal law, including the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act, bars illegal aliens from accessing most federal benefits, including Medicaid. Despite this, California spent more than $3 billion on healthcare for over 1.15 million illegal aliens in 2020 alone — a figure that has almost certainly grown as the state’s illegal alien population has ballooned to nearly 2.3 million.

CMS has requested California repay the $1.3 billion in improperly claimed funds. In her letter, Rep. Kim pressed Governor Newsom for answers on when the state will halt these illegal expenditures, how it plans to reimburse taxpayers, and what safeguards will be put in place to prevent future abuse.

@sunsporter1649 You do realize that Medicaid programs are a mixture of Fed and State funding. Medi-Cal, as it is called in California, attempts to provide additional non-emergent medical services since leaving health care until it requires Emergency Care, and providing care in Emergency Rooms, is the most expensive form of health care. Consequently, good news for for-profit providers; not so for public health facilities and the local tax payers who fund them which take the brunt of the cost. How CMS does their auditing, distinguishing state funding from Federal funding, to satisfy the current POTUS is anyone's guess.

Again, study after study has shown the most illegals avoid seeking health care until it is emergent.

@sunsporter1649
To put it in your first language (cartooning).

@dancingtongue