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They say it’s obvious that people without a photo ID face a real hardship in life — they are unable to cash a check without predatory fees, to travel easily, to get married, and to apply for Medicare. At the same time, Young and King acknowledge that many people have concerns about voter fraud. They say there is a commonsense way to address both concerns: Make it possible to add a picture to Social Security cards and transform them into government-issued photo IDs. In the 1990s, the Clinton administration estimated that producing a Social Security card with an embedded photo would cost only eight cents a card. Because of identity-theft concerns, a photo-ID Social Security card would be limited mostly to those people without any other form of ID.
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The idea was proposed at a 2014 conference in Texas marking the 50th anniversary of the Voting Rights Act. Former president Jimmy Carter, who supported requiring photo ID for elections after co-chairing a 2005 commission on voting issues, eagerly embraced the idea. He said he would “support it in a New York minute.” Former president Bill Clinton agreed: “The idea behind this agreement is to find a way forward that eliminates error and makes the best possible decision that we can all live with.#…#Let’s give somebody something else to argue about.” Former president George W. Bush has also expressed support for the concept of the Freedom Card.
Not sure what I think of it. There would have to be renewals so the picture could be updated.
I'm not a fan of showing anyone my SSN number... even though I understand that it would likely be used by people with no other forms of ID.
In Pa you need to give your social security number, telephone number and present a drivers license to get a fishing license. Since virtually everybody over 18 has a photo ID and uses it all the time, why not have a photo ID to vote?
In Pa you need to give your social security number, telephone number and present a drivers license to get a fishing license. Since virtually everybody over 18 has a photo ID and uses it all the time, why not have a photo ID to vote?
I'm OK w/ voter ID... just not Social Security ID.
I suppose they could put the number on a magnetic strip - different and more secure than what they use for credit cards... that way the number is not visible and hopefully not immediately susceptible to regular card readers.
Good idea in theory (and, with a little tweaks, in practice, too most likely), but there are bound to be some hiccups. Namely, you get a SSN/card when you're a child. Most people never get a second card unless they lose the first, and so go through life with one physical copy of a card. So, most likely, you'd be needing to go down to the SSA and get a new card with photo when you turn 18/old enough to vote and would have to semi-regularly get a new card in order to keep photo up to date (how often would be a debate point). Also, non-citizens can obtain SSA cards, too, so there would need to be a safeguard in place in order to get around this point.
Once it's in place, employers can just use it to verify the names on social security cards match.
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