Why Not a National ID Card?

After recently completing two assignments in my Information Technology and e-Governance class, I came to the realization that both projects would have been much simpler if a national identification card system had been in place. It is time to move beyond the debate as to whether we should have a national identification system, and shift the focus on how to implement such an arrangement.

A national ID would be an important tool in integrating databases. It would make substantially more information available to more people in a much quicker time. It could also be used to verify voter registration, work eligibility, driver's licenses, organ donation, address, passport information, and airport identification. In fact, it could serve as a passport, driver's license, voter's registration card, and eliminate the need for duplicate processes at the state level. It could also be a tool in deterring/reducing voter fraud. Evidence suggests that the majority of voter fraud does not occur at the polls; it occurs through fraudulent registration combined with absentee voting.

A national ID card, supplemented with various biometric safeguards, has been successfully employed in Israel. At Ben Gurion International airport, passengers are required to insert their ID at a kiosk, undergo a hand scan, and be subject to facial recognition software and iris identification. Israel has not experienced a hijacking on El Al, the national airline, since 1968, and no known hijackings have originated at Ben Gurion. Other countries that are far from totalitarian regimes have also adopted national ID's, including France, Germany, Belgium, Greece, Spain, Italy, Brazil, and Argentina.

The biggest objections from opponents seem to relate to privacy concerns, claiming that a national ID has the potential to impinge on privacy rights. Setting aside the difficulty in defining these amorphous "rights," discovered by the U.S. Supreme Court in 1965, through "prenumbras, formed by emanations...," (Griswold v. Connecticut), one might logically counter the privacy advocates with the undisputed fact that we are already subject to numerous privacy "invasions" on a daily basis. A more extreme and (over-) simplified retort might be: So what? If you are not proud of what you do, then stop doing it! Besides, we already have an intrusive identification process within us, DNA.


Medical history seems to be of particular concern. Is there really any difference if the hospital compromises your personal information or if the government is the culprit? The solution is to make entities responsible and accountable for breaches of security. Accountability is not accomplished through a standard public apology from an agency head, followed by hollow promises to get to the bottom of things, only to have the issue drift off the front pages and out of sight while a "blue-ribbon" committee investigates. Rather, it means that people are promptly disciplined (fired) and are subject to individual liability, both financially through civil actions, as well as criminally (many criminal offenses currently on the books require mere negligence for their mens rea). It also should allow the veil of sovereign immunity to be pierced at the local, state, and federal levels.

Accidental disclosures, misuse, theft (credit card fraud, identity theft), are all valid concerns. Unfortunately, these things happen under the current system. Stricter punishment should be considered for identity theft-related crimes.

Another objection seems to follow the logic of "let's do nothing, because eventually things will change/something better will come along." Supporters of this position might also cite costs as a reason not to venture into the unknown. Unfortunately, everything costs!


If the idea of a national ID is accepted, the question turns to who gets one, at what age, how much data to include, who could request/require production of the ID, how would the data be edited, and what type of punishments would be imposed for failing to adhere to the system.

A national ID card is not a panacea for all the problems it seeks to address. Once we acknowledge the need for a national ID card, we can more fully invest our energies in making it cheaper and more secure. There are incidental burdens associated with any new technology, and very few original ideas that were not eventually improved upon. It is time to move this project along, if for no other reason, so that Santa can make all of his deliveries this year!