[EL] boarding plane without showing ID

[Michael McDonald]

It happened to me recently. I went through airport security on the way home,
put my drivers' license in my pocket instead of my wallet, and when I flew
out the next day on another trip, I left my drivers' license at home. I had
to show two pieces of photo id to a security manager: in my case my George
Mason and Brookings ids. Apparently, a credit card with a picture on it will
also suffice. So, I've gone through airport security without a government
issued id, unless you count the GMU id as a state-issued id since it is a
public school. As I chatted with the manager I was told it is a fairly
common occurrence that people do not have a drivers' license to show. I did
not get a good answer what would happen if while I was traveling my wallet
was lost and I had no id to show, but I gathered there are extra screening
steps that can be taken.

Btw, my trip took me to Arizona, where I was very aware that I had no proof
of citizenship.

============
Dr. Michael P. McDonald
Associate Professor, George Mason University
Non-Resident Senior Fellow, Brookings Institution

                             Mailing address:
(o) 703-993-4191             George Mason University
(f) 703-993-1399             Dept. of Public and International Affairs
mmcdon at gmu.edu               4400 University Drive - 3F4
http://elections.gmu.edu     Fairfax, VA 22030-4444

-----Original Message-----
From: law-election-bounces at department-lists.uci.edu
[mailto:law-election-bounces at department-lists.uci.edu] On Behalf Of Doug
Hess
Sent: Friday, September 09, 2011 1:22 AM
To: Election Law
Subject: [EL] boarding plane without showing ID

Several people have mentioned boarding a plane without showing a govt
ID. I guess I always just show mine, but I would swear they do ask for
it. They certainly do examine it closely, even shining some kind of
little flashlight on it (I assume to check the material in the
background of the ID for authenticity, like checking a $20 bill with
one of those special pens).

Are people who don't show IDs just boarding at sloppy airports, or are
you able to refuse to show your ID without getting into trouble or
facing delays?

Doug Hess
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