The ID Double Standard: What You Need Identification For in America
The debate over voter ID laws has become one of the most contentious and revealing battles in American politics. The left insists that requiring identification to vote is an insurmountable barrier a modern poll tax designed to disenfranchise minorities, the elderly, and the poor. The right responds with a simple, commonsense question: if identification is required for virtually every other significant transaction in American life, why should the most sacred act of citizenship be the sole exception?
The answer, from a conservative perspective, is that the left's opposition to voter ID has nothing to do with protecting access to the ballot and everything to do with preserving the conditions in which electoral fraud can flourish. To understand why, one need only examine the extensive list of everyday activities that already require government-issued identification. The contrast between what Democrats demand for voting and what they accept for ordinary commerce is not merely inconsistent; it is revealing.
Travel and Transportation
Perhaps the most obvious category is travel. Every commercial airline passenger over the age of 18 must present a valid government-issued ID before boarding a flight. The Transportation Security Administration is uncompromising on this point. No ID, no flight. This applies equally to executives, students, retirees, and celebrities. It applies in every state, regardless of racial demographics or income levels. And yet the left, which has not launched a single protest against this requirement, expects us to believe that asking for the same ID at a polling place constitutes an act of oppression.
Amtrak does not require ID for most tickets, but passengers must present identification to pick up tickets at will-call windows or to receive refunds for unused tickets . International travel, of course, requires a passport a more stringent identification standard than any voter ID law has ever proposed.
Driving and Vehicles
Operating a motor vehicle requires a valid driver's license. This is not controversial. It is understood that operating heavy machinery on public roads carries risks that justify verifying the operator's identity and competence. The same progressives who oppose voter ID have no problem with laws that require drivers to prove who they are before getting behind the wheel.
Registering a vehicle requires identification. Purchasing automobile insurance requires identification. If you are pulled over by law enforcement, you are legally required to present your license, registration, and proof of insurance. Failure to do so can result in fines, impoundment of your vehicle, and even arrest. All of this is accepted as normal and necessary.
Financial Transactions
The financial sector operates on the assumption that identification is essential to prevent fraud, money laundering, and identity theft. Opening a bank account requires multiple forms of identification. Applying for a credit card requires identification. Cashing a check at a bank where you are not a customer requires identification. Taking out a mortgage, refinancing a loan, or even renting a safe deposit box all require government-issued ID.
The Bank Secrecy Act requires financial institutions to verify the identity of anyone opening an account. This is federal law, supported by Democrats and Republicans alike, because everyone understands that anonymous financial transactions enable criminal activity. Yet when the same logic is applied to voting an activity with profound consequences for the entire nation the left suddenly discovers a passionate commitment to anonymity.
Employment and Benefits
Showing up for work requires identification. The I-9 form, required for every new employee in America, demands that workers present documents establishing both identity and work authorization. This includes a driver's license, passport, or other government-issued ID. The left does not protest this requirement. Unions do not demand that workers be allowed to verify their own identity through "self-attestation." Employers do not argue that asking for ID is a form of discrimination.
Applying for government benefits requires identification. Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, unemployment insurance, food stamps, housing assistance, and every one of these programs requires applicants to prove who they are. The left, which champions these programs, has never suggested that requiring ID for benefits access is a form of voter suppression. Yet when the same identification standard is proposed for voting, the narrative suddenly shifts.
Age-Restricted Activities
The list of activities restricted by age and therefore requiring proof of age is extensive. Purchasing alcohol requires ID. Purchasing tobacco products requires ID. Purchasing lottery tickets or entering a casino requires ID. Buying spray paint or certain over-the-counter medications requires ID in many jurisdictions. Entering bars, nightclubs, and many concerts requires ID.
The left accepts these requirements without complaint. They understand that society has a legitimate interest in verifying that individuals are old enough to engage in certain activities. They do not argue that asking a 19-year-old to show ID before buying beer is an unconstitutional burden. They do not claim that requiring identification disproportionately harms minorities or the poor. But when the same principle is applied to voting an activity with age restrictions (18+) and citizenship requirements—the left's commitment to verification magically evaporates.
Housing and Utilities
Renting an apartment requires identification. Landlords universally require prospective tenants to provide government-issued ID as part of the application process. This is accepted as reasonable due diligence. Utility companies require identification to establish service. Turning on electricity, gas, water, or internet service requires proving who you are and that you can be held accountable for payment.
None of this is controversial. The left does not organize protests outside apartment complexes demanding that landlords accept "self-attestation" of identity. They do not file lawsuits against utility companies for discriminating against those without ID. The requirement is accepted as a normal part of adult life.
Healthcare and Medicine
Picking up a prescription requires ID in most pharmacies. This is not because pharmacists are racist but because controlled substances are, well, controlled. The same progressives who oppose voter ID have no objection to requiring ID to obtain pain medication or other prescription drugs. They understand that verifying identity prevents diversion and abuse.
Applying for health insurance, whether private or public, requires identification. Checking into a hospital requires identification. Even visiting a patient in many hospitals requires presenting ID at the reception desk. All of this is accepted as standard operating procedure.
Firearms and Self-Defense
The irony here is particularly rich. Purchasing a firearm from a licensed dealer requires passing a background check, which requires presenting identification. This is federal law, supported by the very same Democrats who oppose voter ID. The left argues that identification is essential to ensure that convicted felons and the mentally ill do not obtain weapons. They are correct. But they refuse to apply the same logic to voting, where the stakes control of the entire government are arguably higher.
In many states, obtaining a permit to carry a concealed weapon requires not only identification but fingerprints, photographs, and extensive background checks. The left supports these requirements. They understand that verifying identity and eligibility is essential when public safety is at stake. But when the integrity of elections is at stake, they suddenly discover that verification is unnecessary and oppressive.
The Conservative Conclusion
The list goes on. Registering for school requires ID. Getting married requires ID. Adopting a child requires ID. Serving on a jury requires ID. Entering a federal building requires ID. The ubiquity of identification requirements in American life is not an accident or a conspiracy. It is a rational response to the reality that identity matters, that fraud is possible, and that verification is the only reliable protection against abuse.
The left's selective opposition to voter ID reveals their true priorities. They accept identification for everything else air travel, financial transactions, employment, benefits, age-restricted purchases, housing, healthcare, and firearms because those requirements serve purposes they support or at least do not oppose. But voting is different. Voting determines who holds power. And the left has concluded, correctly from their perspective, that maximizing turnout by any means necessary, including the elimination of basic verification, serves their electoral interests.
Conservatives see through this. We understand that if identification is necessary to buy a beer, board a plane, open a bank account, or obtain government benefits, it is certainly necessary to cast a ballot. We reject the premise that requiring ID is an act of oppression when applied to the franchise but an act of responsibility when applied to everything else.v
The ID double standard is not an oversight. It is a strategy. And the conservative response must be to insist, consistently and unapologetically, that the most fundamental act of citizenship deserves at least the same level of verification as buying a six-pack of beer. Show your ID. It's not oppression. It's citizenship.
#SaveAct #Voting #ID #VoterID #VoterFraud