[EL] boarding plane without showing ID

[Doug Hess]

Justin's statement did trigger the question, but people had made the
assertion before and I had always been meaning to ask.

It is a great point to make. Some proponent of IDs also raised the
argument that you need a photo ID to address politicians by entering
federal buildings. Justin also proves that false regarding entering
Congress, but certainly most people are able to address their member
of congress through the phone, letters, email, and public meetings.
Few go through federal buildings (that require photo ID) to do so.

In the end, the "everybody has an ID" belief is premised on the notion
that "everybody else must be like the people I know" fallacy. It's
amazing how often this sort of heuristic, if I can call it that, comes
up in public affairs. People really have no idea how a significant
portion of the population lives or relates to bureaucracy. Justin does
a great job on compiling stories about this issue

Recall that a couple of surveys already indicate that hundreds of
thousands of voters (I think they both indicate over a million, but
I'll low ball it and say 100,000s for now) say they had problems
trying to vote at the polling place. To add another hurdle to that
problem (which is far, far greater than any fraud issue that photo IDs
would address) is so clearly (absurdly clearly) bad policy, that it
very fairly calls into question the motives of the proponents. Even if
Doug Chapin thinks this is entirely just a pristine policy debate.
Really?

Doug Hess



On Fri, Sep 9, 2011 at 2:05 AM, Jerald Lentini <jerald.lentini at gmail.com> wrote:
> I assume this comes up in the context of Justin Levitt's testimony (as
> reported by TPM - http://bit.ly/nKzCSQ):
>
> "'To get to you today, I had to board a plan from Los Angeles and never
> showed a photo ID. While waiting in the terminal, I drank a beer... I never
> showed ID,' Levitt said. 'To testify before you today, I walked right into
> this federal building and never showed ID.'"
>
> When I read that, I just assumed it was a technically accurate but
> misleading statement: in my experience, I'm never asked for a photo ID
> before boarding the plane (i.e. at the gate), but I am always asked for it
> before entering the terminal (i.e. at the security screening checkpoint).
>
> However, upon checking the TSA website (http://1.usa.gov/2jtklg), it appears
> that identification is a requirement-with-an-asterisk:
>
> "Adult passengers (18 and over) are required to show a U.S. federal or
> state-issued photo ID in order to be allowed to go through the checkpoint
> and onto their flight.
>
> "We understand passengers occasionally arrive at the airport without an ID,
> due to lost items or inadvertently leaving them at home. Not having an ID,
> does not necessarily mean a passenger won’t be allowed to fly. If passengers
> are willing to provide additional information, we have other means of
> substantiating someone’s identity, like using publicly available databases.
>
> "Passengers who are cleared through this process may be subject to
> additional screening."
>
> It may well be, therefore, that Prof. Levitt was allowed to go through
> security without providing a photo ID.
>
> -JR Lentini
>
>
>
> On Fri, Sep 9, 2011 at 1:21 AM, Doug Hess <douglasrhess at gmail.com> wrote:
>>
>> 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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>