A Proof of Self: Why Every American Deserves a Portable, Universal Identity
You can’t work without it. You can’t vote without it. You can’t get a loan, a vaccine, or a home without it. But millions of Americans either don’t have it — or are forced to prove it over and over again.
It’s time we gave every person their proof of self.
🇺🇸 The United States Has an Identity Crisis
Whether it’s I-9 employment verification, voter ID, or simply getting a prescription filled, the U.S. has no universal, secure identity system. As a result, millions fall through the cracks, and others fall victim to fraud.
We’re a high-tech society running on low-trust paperwork.
Fake documents pass inspections. Citizens get turned away at polls over signature mismatches. Undocumented workers find jobs with forged IDs, while others can’t prove they’re eligible. Victims of disaster, homelessness, or trafficking are often left invisible to the system.
It’s inefficient, inequitable, and insecure. And it doesn’t have to be this way.
🌍 The World Is Already Doing It Better
Countries across the globe have embraced portable, digital identity — and reaped the benefits.
Estonia uses a secure mobile ID for voting, banking, and government services. It’s fast, safe, and universally accepted.
India’s Aadhaar provides over a billion people with biometric identity — used to receive welfare, open bank accounts, and register phones.
Sweden, Singapore, and Australia offer mobile ID apps with face recognition for services ranging from taxes to healthcare.
The U.S., meanwhile, still asks for utility bills, birth certificates, and faxed copies of Social Security cards.
🔐 What We Need: A Portable, Privacy-Respecting Proof of Self
Imagine a secure digital ID — voluntary, free, and available to all — accessible via smartphone, smartcard, or even a chip (for those who opt in). It wouldn’t store personal data directly, but act as a key to verify your identity across systems.
You could:
Prove your eligibility to work.
Vote with biometric authentication.
Reclaim benefits after a disaster.
Access services even if you’ve lost everything else.
✅ The Benefits Are Real — and Human
This isn’t just about efficiency. It’s about dignity and protection.
Stop identity theft: No one can steal your face or fingerprint.
Find missing children: Biometric ID helps identify lost or trafficked minors — even without papers.
Protect the poor and unhoused: A portable ID can survive when documents don’t.
Empower the undocumented: With a verified identity, they can work legally, safely, and visibly.
Simplify life: Apply for jobs, vote, travel, or get care without repeating your life story.
🤝 There’s Something in It for Everyone
Conservatives get real voter ID and immigration enforcement — without disenfranchisement.
Progressives get inclusion and equity — without red tape or systemic bias.
Libertarians get personal control over identity — no need to depend on the DMV or a tech monopoly.
The poor get access to society — even without money, phones, or fixed addresses.
A secure, portable identity is not a threat to liberty. It’s a defense against exclusion.
🚫 This Isn’t Surveillance. It’s Recognition.
Yes, there must be guardrails: encryption, consent, legal protections. But the alternative is what we have now — a patchwork system that fails everyone, from displaced hurricane victims to military veterans to new voters.
A portable, universal ID isn’t about control. It’s about recognition. It lets people participate in society without begging to be seen.
🗳 The Time Is Now
We don’t need more bureaucracy. We don’t need another political wedge.
We just need to let people prove who they are — easily, securely, and on their terms.
Give every person their proof of self — and let them belong.