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Should there be a national identification card?

Candidates' positions are categorized as Pro (Yes), Con (No), Not Clearly Pro or Con, or None Found.
Candidates who have changed their positions are listed as Now their most recent position.
(Candidates are listed in alphabetical order by party; black & white photos indicate candidates who have withdrawn or who no longer meet our criteria.)

Democratic Party (D)
Candidate
Position
  Obama, Barack
None Found
  Biden, Joe
(Withdrew on
Jan. 3, 2008)
None Found
  Clinton, Hillary
(Suspended campaign
on June 7, 2008)
Pro
  Dodd, Chris
(Withdrew on
Jan. 3, 2008)
None Found
  Edwards, John
(Withdrew on
Jan. 30, 2008)
None Found
  Kucinich, Dennis
(Withdrew on
Jan. 25, 2008)
None Found
  Richardson, Bill
(Withdrew on
Jan. 10, 2008)
None Found
  Vilsack, Tom
(Withdrew on
Feb. 23, 2007)
None Found
Republican Party (R)
Candidate
Position
  McCain, John
Not Clearly Pro or Con
  Brownback, Sam
(Withdrew on
Oct. 19, 2007)
None Found
  Gilmore, Jim
(Withdrew on
July 14, 2007)
None Found
  Giuliani, Rudy
(Withdrew on
Jan. 30, 2008)
None Found
  Huckabee, Mike
(Withdrew on
Mar. 4, 2008)
None Found
  Hunter, Duncan
(Withdrew on
Jan. 19, 2008)
None Found
  Paul, Ron
(Withdrew on
June 12, 2008)
Con
  Romney, Mitt
(Withdrew on
Feb. 7, 2008)
None Found
  Tancredo, Tom
(Withdrew on
Dec. 20, 2007)
None Found
  Thompson, Fred
(Withdrew on
Jan. 22, 2008)
None Found
  Thompson, Tommy
(Withdrew on
Aug. 12, 2007)
None Found
3rd Parties / Independents (3rd/I)
Candidate
Position
 Baldwin, Chuck
 (Cst)
Con
 Barr, Bob
 (Lib)
Con
 McKinney, Cynthia
 (Grn)
None Found
 Nader, Ralph
 (Ind)
None Found
  Gravel, Mike
(Withdrew on
May 27, 2008)
Pro
  Imperato, Daniel
(No longer met criteria
on Mar. 21, 2008)
None Found
  Keyes, Alan
(No longer met criteria
on June 23, 2008)
Con
  Kubby, Steve
(No longer met criteria
on Mar. 21, 2008)
None Found
  McEnulty, Frank
(No longer met criteria
on Mar. 21, 2008)
None Found
  Smith, Christine
(No longer met criteria
on Mar. 21, 2008)
None Found
Additional Resources:

  1. Read what the REAL ID Act is in our Glossary.


ISSUES
Abortion
1. Legal option
2. Parental consent
Character
3. Honesty vs. competence
China
4. Threat to US?
5. Human rights

Criminal Justice
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Cuba
8. Embargo
Darfur
9. Genocide

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Defense
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District of Columbia
12. Statehood

Economy
13. Outsourcing jobs
14. Free trade regulations
15. NAFTA

Education
16. No Child Left Behind
17. Increasing costs
18. School vouchers
19. Abstinence only

Election Reform
20. Paper trails
21. Campaign contributions
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Eminent Domain
23. Non-public use

Energy
24. ANWR drilling
25. Price of US gasoline

Environment
26. International agreements
27. Fuel efficiency
28. Global climate change

Gun Control
29. Federal regulations

Health Care
30. Subsidized care
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Immigration
33. Net impact on economy
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Iran
36. US military force

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37. Was the attack a mistake?
38. Is America safer?
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40. Military and economic aid

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41. Hamas
42. Palestine

Kosovo
43. Independence

Marriage
44. Constitutional amendment
45. Infidelity

Media
46. Protecting sources

Medical Marijuana
47. Legalization
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National ID
49. National ID card

National Service
50. Draft
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52. Mandatory service

Presidential Power
53. Line item veto
54. Unitary executive theory

Religion
55. Faith-based funding
56. Importance to voters

Social Security
57. Privatizing

Stem Cells
58. Federal funding

Taxes
59. Bush tax cuts

Turkey
60. Entering Iraq

US Constitution
61. Alteration

War on Terror
62. Waterboarding
63. Guantanamo Bay
64. PATRIOT Act
65. Warrantless wiretapping



Should there be a national identification card?

Candidates are listed in alphabetical order. Positions are categorized as Pro (Yes), Con (No), Not Clearly Pro or Con, or None Found.
Candidates who have withdrawn or who no longer meet our
criteria are listed last.

   Pro (Yes)    Con (No)

   Baldwin, Chuck (Cst) - Con

Chuck Baldwin, Founder and Minister of the Crossroad Baptist Church in Pensacola, FL, issued the following statement through his Communications Director, Mary Starrett, in an Aug. 11, 2008 email to ProCon.org:

"We will not advance, we will not tolerate, we will not accept any form of a national ID card. Free people do not have to check in with government officials and show them their papers! That does not work in these United States of America...

...We affirm the Fourth Amendment right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects against unreasonable searches and seizures, including arbitrary or de facto registration, general and unwarranted electronic surveillance, national computer databases, and national identification cards."
Aug. 11, 2008 Chuck Baldwin


Top
   Barr, Bob (Lib) - Con

Bob Barr, former US House Representative (R-GA), in an Aug. 1, 2008 press release titled "Barr Blasts McCain, Obama for Supporting National ID, Again Urges Congress to Repeal Real ID Act" on his official candidate website, stated:

"'September 11' has become the catch-all excuse for virtually every proposed expansion of government power...One example is a national identification card and database, long desired by some in government, and which was mandated by legislation passed by the Congress in 2005...Although I was no longer in the Congress when this bad legislation was passed, I had vigorously opposed it in the years since it became law, just as I led the successful effort to rescind a previous mandate for a national ID card...

Creating anything close to a national ID card threatens Americans' basic civil liberties and privacy while doing little or nothing to make us more secure."
Aug. 1, 2008 Bob Barr


Top
     McCain, John (R) - Not Clearly Pro or Con

John McCain, US Senator (R-AZ), stated in a Sep. 30, 2004 speech titled "National Intelligence Reform Act: Amendment 3807" in the Congressional Record:

"...[T]his amendment [McCain/Lieberman S.Amdt.3807 to the "National Intelligence Reform Act" (S.2845)] would implement 9/11 Commission's recommendation that the Federal Government set standards for the issuance of birth certificates, driver's licenses, and other sources of identification...

Our amendment would require birth certificates and driver's licenses to meet new minimum Federal standards in order to be accepted by a Federal agency for any official purpose...

This amendment would not mandate a national ID card. It would not infringe upon the right of the States to determine who can get a driver's license. It would not establish a national database with information on all drivers. And it would prohibit the establishment of a single design for driver's licenses and birth certificates. We believe it fulfills the recommendation of the 9/11 Commission without trampling on States' rights, privacy, or civil liberties."
Sep. 30, 2004 John McCain


Top
          McKinney, Cynthia (Grn) - None Found

ProCon.org emailed the McKinney campaign on Apr. 23, 2008 with this question. We had not received a reply or found a position as of May 28, 2008.

 

Top
          Nader, Ralph (Ind) - None Found

ProCon.org emailed the Nader campaign on Apr. 23, 2008 with this question. We had not received a reply or found a position as of May 28, 2008.

 

Top
         Obama, Barack (D) - None Found

ProCon.org emailed the Obama campaign on Apr. 23, 2008 with this question. We had not received a reply or found a position as of May 28, 2008.
 

CANDIDATES WHO HAVE WITHDRAWN OR WHO NO LONGER MEET OUR CRITERIA
     Biden, Joe (D) - None Found  
Withdrew on Jan. 3, 2008; no position found as of that date


Top
     Brownback, Sam (R) - None Found  
Withdrew on Oct. 19, 2007; no position found as of that date


Top
   Clinton, Hillary (D) - Pro

Hillary Clinton, US Senator (D-NY), stated in a Feb. 11, 2003 PHXnews.com article titled "Hillary Calls for National ID Cards to Keep Illegals Out of the Country":

"Clearly we have to make some tough decisions as a country...And one of them ought to be coming up with a much better entry and exit system so that if we're going to let people in for the work that otherwise would not be done, let's have a system that keeps track of them.

...[A]t least a visa ID, some kind of an entry and exit ID. And, you know, perhaps, although I'm not a big fan of it, we might have to move towards an ID system even for citizens."
Feb. 11, 2003 Hillary Clinton


Top
     Dodd, Chris (D) - None Found  
Withdrew on Jan. 3, 2008; no position found as of that date


Top
     Edwards, John (D) - None Found  
Withdrew on Jan. 30, 2008; no position found as of that date


Top
     Gilmore, Jim (R) - None Found  
Withdrew on Aug. 14, 2007; no position found as of that date


Top
     Giuliani, Rudy (R) - None Found  
Withdrew on Jan. 30, 2008; no position found as of that date


Top
   Gravel, Mike (Lib) - Pro

Mike Gravel, former US Senator (D-AK), stated in a Sep. 8, 2007 Q&A forum in Tampa, FL on a YouTube video titled "Mike Gravel on the Real ID Act (National ID Card)":

"I have no problem with a national ID card. I know it disturbs a lot of people but you know something? I've got one in my wallet right now. It's called a license...All they can do is design a better ID card than this. A real serious ID card...

Getting a better ID can protect you as an individual - it's not bad."
Sep. 8, 2007 Mike Gravel


Top

     Huckabee, Mike (R) - None Found  
Withdrew on Mar. 4, 2008; no position found as of that date


Top
     Hunter, Duncan (R) - None Found  
Withdrew on Jan. 19, 2008; no position found as of that date


Top
     Imperato, Daniel (Ind) - None Found  
No longer met ProCon.org's criteria as of Mar. 21, 2008; no position found as of that date


Top
   Keyes, Alan (Ind) - Con

Alan Keyes, former Assistant US Secretary of State, stated in a July 24, 1998 WorldNetDaily.com article titled "The National ID Number":

"...[W]e must be especially vigilant in our time, when issues are arising which appear to invite the creation of an apparatus that would extend control to a more pervasive and deeper level than ever before in the history of man. This is a time when a people serious about retaining its liberty must insist that its representatives show foresight and statesmanship in anticipating such threats to liberty, without rejecting the great promise of technological advances.

What do we have instead? Specious arguments for efficiency and effectiveness are being heeded by the Congress, while arguments concerning precautions necessary to protect our liberty aren't even being considered. That's why I am so upset with the Republicans for letting the national ID card go through the Congress. Such decisions lack even a trace of the kind of statesmanship that is needed to protect a free people."
July 24, 1998 Alan Keyes


Top
     Kubby, Steve (Lib) - None Found  
No longer met ProCon.org's criteria as of Mar. 21, 2008; no position found as of that date


Top
     Kucinich, Dennis (D) - None Found  
Withdrew on Jan. 25, 2008; no position found as of that date


Top
     McEnulty, Frank (Ind) - None Found  
No longer met ProCon.org's criteria as of Mar. 21, 2008; no position found as of that date


Top
   Paul, Ron (R) - Con

Ron Paul, US Representative (R-TX), stated in an article titled "Issue: Privacy and Personal Liberty" on his official candidate website (accessed May, 8, 2008):

"The biggest threat to your privacy is the government. We must drastically limit the ability of government to collect and store data regarding citizens' personal matters.

We must stop the move toward a national ID card system. All states are preparing to issue new driver's licenses embedded with 'standard identifier' data - a national ID. A national ID with new tracking technologies means we're heading into an Orwellian world of no privacy. I voted against the Real ID Act in March of 2005."
May, 8, 2008 Ron Paul


Top
     Richardson, Bill (D) - None Found  
Withdrew on Jan. 10, 2008; no position found as of that date


Top
     Romney, Mitt (R) - None Found  
Withdrew on Feb. 7, 2008; no position found as of that date


Top
     Smith, Christine (Lib) - None Found  
No longer met ProCon.org's criteria as of Mar. 21, 2008; no position found as of that date


Top
     Tancredo, Tom (R) - None Found  
Withdrew on Dec. 20, 2007; no position found as of that date


Top
     Thompson, Fred (R) - None Found  
Withdrew on Jan. 22, 2008; no position found as of that date


Top
     Thompson, Tommy (R) - None Found  
Withdrew on Sep. 12, 2007; no position found as of that date


Top
     Vilsack, Tom (D) - None Found  
Withdrew on Feb. 23, 2007; no position found as of that date

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