As written the Texas bill is unconstitutional. Specifically, a
violation of the
Poll Tax Amendment, since all the government issued IDs cost a fee. It
would only be constitutional if the ID cards were issued free.
It is also unconstitutional to require something be presented that
everyone is not required to have. There is no constitutional authority
to require everyone to have ID, not even to have a name. Historically,
there have been "no-name" persons, usually referred to in court
pleadings by "John Doe" or "Jane Roe" even if the person is in custody.
But they are still citizens qualified to vote.
What is needed is to add to the list of ID a notary acknowledgment.
That is the traditional, and constitutional, identification system. It
should be updated to digital certification, tied to biometrics, but the
basic principle should be "circles of trust",
not
a central database. That allows identities to be altered by a few
keystrokes by an anonymous clerk, perhaps changing you into a fugitive
child-molester and cop-killer. Recall the movie, The Net,
starring
Sandra Bullock.
-- Jon
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Constitution Society http://constitution.org
2900 W Anderson Ln C-200-322 twitter.com/lex_rex
Austin, TX 78757 512/299-5001 jon.roland@constitution.org
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