that’s truly what’s preventing some of them from voting?
Valid, unexpired government-issued identification would also help them in many other areas of their lives beyond registering to vote and voting, it would also help them year-round, not just when they’re needed as pawns in election cycles. It’s probable that having identification that doesn’t expire in one, two, three or however many years their jurisdiction issues them for, will open numerous doors for people in need. Such a benefit can hardly have any negative connotations at all.
Multiple multimillionaires and multibillionaires loudly and proudly touted how they provided registration drives, voter education sessions, transportation to polls, and other extremely helpful methods in order to ensure that people would make it to the polls in several local, state and federal elections in 2020. Additionally, some of them paid for bail, bond, parole, probation, appeals, fines, fees, etc. along with legislation and changes of regulations that prevented convicted people from voting. So if it is true that certain minorities simply can’t vote because they lack proper identification, have the purse strings slammed shut now that elections are over?
About 10 years ago, I challenged someone who claimed that getting government-issued identification was impossible by asking him how much beer and alcohol he was able to buy in a year’s time. “Well, that’s completely different,” was his lame reply.
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When you state, “the ID should be free”, I’m not sure if you’re referring to what I proposed in that the rich benefactors assist people in obtaining identification, or if you mean that all government-issued identification in general should be free, or if you mean that specifically for the purpose of voting, identification should be made free. I see a viable path to ensuring that people get identification being paid for by those millionaires and billionaires I mentioned, and unless someone can point it out to me, I don’t see any negative side to it.
As for your point about identification is generally considered to be a drivers license, keep in mind that you and I are in California, a state very much attached to its car culture. There are other places in the US, where a drivers license is not the preeminent form of identification, such as places where fewer people drive and/or own vehicles. Even in California, the push for children to get government-issued identification was a big push when my children were just entering elementary schools over twenty years ago along with the responses to the high-profile crimes that were being committed against children. Programs were being introduced to fingerprint children so that if they were ever kidnapped and whisked off for years or decades, the fingerprint trail offered another avenue for solving cases. Part of those programs also had DMV issuing identification cards for the children with pictures and biographical information, the exact same identification that has always been available to adults who do not drive or cannot drive (for whatever myriad of reasons). Other places beyond California, those with or without car cultures, offer ways for people to acquire identification that is not a drivers license.
While you won’t get an argument from me about your statement that “We should have ID issued to everyone regardless of whether they drive.” However, there are some people who tout privacy issues, enforced government meddling, anarchist views, even those who are using aliases for nefario reasons, some resist that idea. I’m not saying they are right or wrong, I’m not saying you are right or wrong.
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There’s no law in the US requiring its citizens to obtain and/or carry a national ID card/document, nor does any such mandatory card/document exist. There are certain US federal government functions, policies, processes, and procedures for which one must produce a birth certificate or a passport or other documents, but it’s not a blanket rule that each and every adult must have one in his or her possession. For instance, there are particular federal jobs that require proof of US citizenship, and to travel outside of the US or return to the US from foreign territory, a passport is required. If a person has no need to obtain a passport or no desire to obtain one, such as not planning any foreign travel and a return to the US, he or she does not have to get a passport. Theoretically, while it either becomes very difficult or outright impossible to do certain things without valid federal government-issued identification, it is when someone wishes to or attempts to do those things that the federal government can, may, or does require a person to obtain one, but I reiterate that there is no law specifically stating all must acquire national identification.
The US social security card is also not strictly mandatory across the board, meaning that while more than 90% of working adults need one (this is only one example because there are people other than working adults who have to get one), there are situations and circumstances wherein a person can legally do without ever obtaining a social security account, account number, or a card. The social security card does not include a picture of the cardholder, so it is not strictly a fully functional identification method. The social security account, number, and/or card are required for many purposes, I stress, however, that it bolsters one’s identification but does not fully identify a person.
In my career, I dealt with people from countries all over the world, and I am therefore well aware that many countries have national identification cards and/or other national identification documentation. The purposes and names of the documents are as varied as there are countries in the world, and often, a change in government leadership or other social, civil, political, cultural, etc. events can also change those requirements for said country or countries. Residency card, voter identification card, national census document, social security card, unique document of identity card, regional/tribal identity card, citizenship card, are just some of the many names. The people from foreign countries who come to the US are sometimes quite surprised that this country does not have such a requirement or system.
Lastly, each state or territory of the US has its own laws on identification requirements. Those are not national requirements nor are they national identification documents. They may be used all over the nation, sure, even in other parts of the world, but they are not considered national identification documents on the same sense that other countries have national identification documents.
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Randy here it is mandatory for anything. Essentially you have 2 picture ID's
1. National ID with your picture. Your fingerprints are also on a digital file
2. Your E-card for health insurance
One does pay for their National ID, a one time fee 5 Euros
(Where is “here”, please?)
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Thank you.
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Thriftymaid 