Identification Day: Fill & Download for Free

A good friend of mine is an election judge here in Austin Texas. After Texas passed strict voter ID laws I asked him how many people were being turned away for lack of ID.He told me that occasionally a person shows up, usually an elderly person, without one of the valid ID cards. Usually they can provide one of the alternative forms of identification[1].Texas Driver License issued by the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS)Texas Election Identification Certificate issued by DPSTexas Personal Identification Card issued by DPSTexas Handgun License issued by DPSUnited States Military Identification Card containing the person’s photographUnited States Citizenship Certificate containing the person’s photographUnited States Passport (book or card)Alternate forms of identification:copy or original of a government document that shows the voter’s name and an address, including the voter’s voter registration certificate;copy of or original current utility bill;copy of or original bank statement;copy of or original government check;copy of or original paycheck; orcopy of or original of (a) a certified domestic (from a U.S. state or territory) birth certificate or (b) a document confirming birth admissible in a court of law which establishes the voter’s identity (which may include a foreign birth document).If the voter has none of the above he or she casts a provisional ballot, and then has six days to contact the county and provide one of the acceptable forms of identification.It is unheard in my friend’s experience to have someone just flat be unable to vote.Footnotes[1] Required Identification for Voting in Person

This happened to me about 20 years ago when I still lived in Alabama. I needed a little cash so I drove to the my bank to pick some up during business hours. This was quite a few years before any of our local banks had automated tellers.I used the drive-thru where I wrote a personal check to “cash” for 50 dollars, if I remember correctly. I then gave the check and my identification, my passport as I had lost my drivers license a couple days before, to the teller.The teller, let’s call her Charlotte, takes my passport looks at it and, over the intercom, says to me, as though very probably dealing with an idiot, “Sir, I’m gonna need a valid photo identification. I don’t even know what this here is.” (Imagine Dolly Parton doing a parody of her own southern accent).I tried my best not to seem a condescending prick and replied “ That’s my passport issued by the United States Department of State. I can assure you that it is a valid form of photo identification. Just look at it. There’s a U.S. Flag and a picture of an bald eagle and everything.”“Well, be that as it may I’m gonna need a drivers license or somethin’ otherwise I can’t give you no cash.” she insists.“What you have there is most definitely SOMETHING. Perhaps you should confer with one of your colleagues or even a manager.” I suggest.“Betty, can you come over here and look at this?” she asks of one of her colleagues. “This gentleman claims that this is A VALID PHOTO IDENTIFICATION. Do you even know what this is?”.Betty looks at me and says “Sir, we’re gonna need a valid form of photo identification like a drivers license or somethin’.”I give the classic 2 handed facepalm and, after a long suffering sigh, I say “It’s a passport. It’s issued by the United States Government to U.S. Citizens who generally use them to travel abroad and it is definitely a valid government issued photo ID.”By this time a third teller, let’s call him Carl, is involved “I think it’s one of those things you use to go to foreign country or somethin’.” he says to Charlotte and Betty. He looks at me “Sir this is a bank. It ain’t no airport. We’re going to need a valid photo identification like a drivers license or somethin’.”At this point I’m no longer trying to avoid being a condescending prick when I ask “Can one of you ignorant savages fetch a manager? Preferably one that’s traveled beyond the borders of the great state of Alabama.”After a round of “Well I never’s!” Betty takes of in a huff to retrieve the bank manager. When he arrives Charlotte looks at me smugly and says “Bill, this gentleman wants withdraw cash but, he doesn’t have valid photo identification, he only has THIS!” and with this she presents Bill, the bank manager, with my passport.Bill looks at me sheepishly and there is an audible click as the intercom shuts off. Because of this I didn’t here exactly what bill said to Charlotte, Betty, and Carl but judging from their body language and the way their eyes all drifted downward I would guess it was none to kind. Then a click as the intercom springs back to life and Bill says “Please allow me to apologize Mr. Estes I promise you that nothing like this will ever happen again. Would 2 twenty’s and a ten be o.k.?”.

In Chile, we have a very strict (yet simple and cheap) system that works.The pregnant person that’s in labour and the future newborn are treated as two independent patients. Each one has a separate team of professionals at their disposal, separate medical records, and separate identification bands.The identification band of the person in labour is printed or written down by hand by a member of the obstetric team or the admissions office the minute they are admitted to the hospital, and is checked in multiple occasions during a day, multiple times a day. It’s also placed on the person’s wrist at arrival, read out loud, and followed by the same speech (that we all are forced to memorise in Uni):This band is your only form of identification inside the hospital, and it will be matched with your newborn’s identification band after birth. You must read it carefully and certify all information is accurate. If not, you must notify us immediately so we can correct it. If it falls, gets lost or is no longer legible, you must notify a health professional immediately. You must not remove the identification band until you’re out of the hospital. Do you understand?The midwife in charge of the unit will also conduct check-ups at random times during the month, and fill out an institutional check-up list in order to determine the incidence of unidentified patients per month, trimester and year.The neonatal team will begin to fill up the first medical record of the newborn once the pregnant person is in active labour, and only then, the identification band for their child will be printed or written down to match the bracelet of the parent (and pinned in their medical chart until the baby is born)They will be requested to check the information written on the bracelet during:1.- Labour.2.- Immediately after birth.3.- During any check up.4.- Every time the newborn must be separated from the parent, and immediately after the newborn is brought back to them.They are also given a very similar speech (that starts with; This is the only piece of identification that let us know this baby is your baby…) usually after the information in the identification band is read out loud and while the bracelet is placed during the process of bonding, as the baby is in their chest, immediately after birth, and in front of the birthing parent, or the companion they have chosen for the birth when this isn’t possible (usually the other parent or a close relative).And why are we so rigorous about this particular process? Because there were a few very public cases during the 90’s and early 00’s where people took the wrong baby home after giving birth in public hospitals. And from that moment on, the Ministry of Health began an entire process of reformulation and monitorization of proper patient identification, one that’s so important for national health indicators, that it’s checked even while a hospital is going through an accreditation process.It has worked though. I’ve yet to know of recent cases of newborns switched at hospitals.