When it comes to voting rights, the U.S. is an outlier among the world’s democracies in not requiring voter IDs. Of the 47 countries in Europe today, 46 currently require government-issued photo IDs. The exception is the United Kingdom, in which Northern Ireland and other localities require voter IDs, but the requirement is not nationwide. The British parliament is considering a nationwide requirement, so soon all 47 European nations will likely have adopted this common-sense policy.

35 of the 47 European nations don’t allow absentee voting for their citizens, in contrast to the U.S.’s very loose rules. Ten European nations allow absentee voting but require voters to show up in person and present a voter ID.

England once had absentee voting rules, similar to those in the U.S. but in 2004 the city of Birmingham uncovered a massive voter fraud scheme in city council races. The six winning candidates fraudulently acquired 40,000 absentee votes. As a result, England ended mailing out absentee ballots and required voters to show up in person with a photo ID.

France once had loose absentee voting rules, but in 1975 when massive vote fraud was uncovered on the island of Corsica — where hundreds of thousands of dead people were found to be voting and even larger-scale vote-buying operations were occurring — France banned absentee voting altogether.

Our neighbor Canada requires a photo ID to vote. If a voter shows up without a photo ID, they can only vote if they declare their identity in writing and if a poll worker present can verify their identity.

Mexico, with a long history of election fraud, recently instituted strict reforms. Voters must now present an ID with not only a photo, but a thumb print. Voters also have indelible ink applied to their thumbs to ensure they only vote once. Absentee voting in prohibited even for residents living outside of Mexico.

The radical voter reform bills the Democrats are currently pushing would prohibit states from requiring voter IDs and would require states to allow permanent mail-in voting. A country with loose absentee voting rules is making itself vulnerable to vote fraud. A country with mail-in voting where ballots are simply mailed to everyone is begging for vote fraud.

The source of this information is from a talk delivered at Hillsdale College by professor John R. Lott Jr. on Sept. 20, 2021.

Steve Wolverton

Parkersburg