Recently, I was listening to a Democratic podcast in which they discussed their disagreement with the new electoral law pushed by Republicans in 2021. They view it as an "authoritarian" measure, something they believe goes against the principles of freedom and resembles the practices of authoritarian governments in Eastern Europe, Latin America, the Middle East, and Asia. This is a viewpoint they have never encountered before in US legislation.
According to the Democratic perspective, a free citizen should not be required to carry any form of identification, except perhaps a driver's license, which they argue should not be necessary to exercise the right to vote. They argue that countries that mandate identification with a name and number are akin to dictatorships like China.
This led me to ponder: does this mean that Chile is a dictatorship? In Chile, identification is required for virtually everything, making it a standard practice for Chileans but seemingly oppressive to an American.
The new electoral law, which requires voter identification through a driver's license or other official documents, was primarily adopted by Republican-led states and "swing states," while facing opposition from Democratic-leaning states like California, where the governor has banned the law from being implemented.