[EL] boarding plane without showing ID

[Michael Hanmer]

This is very interesting.  I just assumed photo ID was necessary for air travel.  

I can add a recent story on interpretation of the rules mattering from my trip to APSA from Dulles airport.  The person in front of me was a DEA employee who showed a DEA issued photo ID to the TSA agent.  This person was then asked by the TSA agent for a driver's license because he said the DEA ID didn't have an expiration date.  The DEA employee reminded him that it was a government issued photo ID and pointed him to the expiration date on the ID.  The TSA agent insisted that the driver's license was necessary, and said that he doesn't make the rules he just follows them.  The DEA employee produced a driver's license and went through. Of course, this is just one example.

>>> Josiah Neeley <JNeeley at bopplaw.com> 9/9/2011 10:01 AM >>>
I'm trying to imagine what would happen if someone proposed a similar sort of "accommodation" for people who show up to vote without a photo ID. 
________________________________________
From: law-election-bounces at department-lists.uci.edu [law-election-bounces at department-lists.uci.edu] on behalf of Justin Levitt [levittj at lls.edu] 
Sent: Friday, September 09, 2011 6:55 AM
To: Jerald Lentini
Cc: Doug Hess; Election Law
Subject: Re: [EL] boarding plane without showing ID

When I walked into the airport Wednesday night, I did not have photo ID (either govt-issued or not) in my wallet. At the risk of too much sharing, here's what I did have: two credit cards, firing range card, health insurance card, blood donor card, coffee shop frequent visitor card, and a few business cards. I was also carrying a checkbook. But no photos. 

The TSA officer looked at my boarding pass, and then had me step aside for some additional questions -- another officer reviewed the documentation, and asked a bit more. Then I was asked to step through the (regular) security line, where my bags were screened, and an officer got to see a wholly unappealing backscatter picture.  The entire thing took about ten minutes longer than it otherwise would have. And worked exactly as it was supposed to. This wasn't a parlor trick ... it was policy.

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