https://today.umd.edu/umd-analysis-millions-of-americans-dont-have-id-required-to-vote
Seven million voting-age Americans lack any ID to vote, and 3 million of these people are under the age of 30.
The question I have then is how can someone not have some form of ID. Let’s start with a passport, the highest form of ID.
Apply for a Passport
To apply for a passport, you need either a US birth certificate, a consular report of birth abroad, or a certificate of naturalization or citizenship. If you lack all three, there are some ways to verify that you are still a citizen, such as census records. You also need at least one form of a primary ID or two forms of secondary ID from this list. So, to not be able to get a passport, you would need to have never gotten a social security card, registered to vote, never attended a school, not have been in the census before you were 5 years old, and never registered for the selective service. Most American citizens have done at least two of those things and can apply for a passport.
Congratulations if you have a birth certificate, attended high school, appeared in the school yearbook, and obtained a school ID. You have fulfilled the requirements for secondary IDs, and you can get a US passport. This is almost everybody. If you don’t have a birth certificate, contact the state where you were born; they all have processes for you to get a certified copy.
Let’s say you did not attend any high school. You were homeschooled, and your parents never applied for an ID for you. Moreover, you do not have a social security card, and you are not registered to vote. You also do not have health insurance because that also works. 3.1 million Americans between the ages of 5 and 18 are homeschooled, so every year, approximately 300,000 homeschoolers turn 18.
Apply for a State ID
You are going to apply for a state ID, and I’m using the list from Washington State to demonstrate the most likely way someone could not get a state ID.
To be unable to get a Washington state ID, you would need to not have a birth certificate, adoption papers, social security card, marriage license, or selective service card. If you have one of these things, you are under 25, and your parent is with you, you can get an ID card.
Summary
If you are under 25, the easiest way is to get an ID card from your state with one parent and your birth certificate. Other states are similar. Otherwise, apply for a passport with your birth certificate, a student ID, and your school yearbook unless you are one of the 300,000 homeschooled Americans who recently turned 18. If your parents or legal guardian have not applied for an ID for you already without sending you to school, shame on them. From my understanding, this is the most likely way someone under 25 could not have any way to apply for a form of ID.
If you are over 25, bring your birth certificate, social security card, and voter registration card to the passport acceptance facility. Almost every county in the country has a passport acceptance facility. Once you have a passport, you have a List A document that can be used for voting, job applications, and travel. If you don’t have a birth certificate, there are ways to work around it, though the best thing to do is to contact the state of your birth and get a certified copy.
There is almost always another way to deal with almost every inconvenience, like not attending public school or not having a birth certificate.
Continue in Part 2
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