>There's probably some merit to that but I think it would really depend on why. If you can't in the sense that you just don't follow through that's one thing. Whereas working the same hours that the ID office is open, not having PTO, being unable to afford taking unpaid time off, not being able to afford a personal vehicle; if you can't simply because you are poor that hardly seems a reasonable basis to disenfranchise someone.
Not everyone gets PTO. People from the ghetto, as you say, work part-time and can simply reschedule their work in most cases or go during off time. They are not working every single weekday during business hours, in general. Have you ever worked in the retail or restaurant industry, or done gig work? Nobody is booked solid like this. Besides, even the ghetto people need ID to buy alcohol and cigarettes, and to cash welfare checks.
Not to be a jerk, but there is a good reason for very poor people to have less say in how the country is run. You don't get poor by being super productive or owning a stake in the country. Poor people could be seen as not having skin in the game. The relationship between contributions and wealth is loose, as is the relationship between contributions and merit. But let's just say that people who have nothing to lose, and who probably hate the most productive members of society out of envy, and who may have severe character flaws or mental issues holding them back, probably are not on the same level as the best among us. We have decided to run our country in an egalitarian way that ignores these differences in general, but when we look at extremes I think the outliers are still jarring to most people. There are many people who fail at every aspect of life and envy others, who can vote to make others miserable too.
>Oh and the kicker? It's a poor filter anyway, at least for the purpose that you stated. Someone who doesn't work will have little issue passing it since he has no scheduling conflict with office hours and what's a multi-hour trip on public transit to him?
For an important appointment once every four to ten years, you can get a friend to drop you off or else take Uber. Don't give me this shit about being unable to get to the DMV. I've lived in red states and the DMV offices are perhaps 10 or 20 miles apart. In the worst case, you live way out in the country. I want you to start talking to people to see who doesn't have an ID. I'm sure you'll find that everyone with a regular job has one. Everyone who serves you or interacts with you in everyday life, besides some illegal immigrants, will have one. Basically everyone except children and the very elderly or disabled will have one. It is easy and cheap to get, and essential, so anyone who is not a complete hermit or headcase is going to have one.