Policy Skeleton Key Problem solving with Electronic Federal ID By Seraph Stone

Policy Skeleton Key

Problem solving with Electronic Federal ID

1. What is EFID? How does it work?

Technological integration has expanded throughout virtually every facet of modern society and while many of our utilities have kept pace, some stubbornly remain analog. The physical ID systems we use in the United States present many challenges from theft to locale to durability of the ID itself. Addressing these should be as simple as establishing an electronic federal ID system (EFID) in the form of a two factor verification app connected to a person's social security number (SSN). Despite the fact social security numbers aren't meant to be used as a form of ID, they already fill that role in various areas of our society; until a better system of federal ID is established, it's likely the best option available to build the EFID program from. An EFID can be acquired anywhere with cell service and cannot be physically stolen like a legacy ID; this sort of system allows for a level of real time fraud protection not possible with current models. In the event that a person’s ID is used from an unfamiliar device, a warning notification could be sent to a linked security email. Maintaining data siloing standards would be easy as such a program would only require someone’s SSN and date of birth to be stored, this is already the case with our social security administration. The physical infrastructure necessary to instate this policy is limited to server space to maintain code generation and the phone app that would be used to verify an ID. Having a rapidly verifiable and secure form of identification in place opens up the opportunity to address a wide variety of issues plaguing our political environment currently.

2. Removing the political roadblock of voter ID

Due to the consistent push from republicans, favorability for voter ID has risen on a relatively bipartisan line ^[1]. The policy of voter ID, when proposed simply, is an appealing concept in line with the MAGA “common sense” mantra, this makes it something that democrats cannot afford to ignore. In reality voter ID solves a problem that doesn't meaningfully exist and only serves to reduce the total number of eligible voters. While most Americans have a valid form of ID, physical ID can be expensive, sometimes requires a restrictive degree of travel to the nearest DMV, and for people in the working class with less flexible working schedules can present issues taking time off. Electronic federal ID would ideally be distributed for free to anyone with a smartphone and a cell signal; while not a perfect solution, EFID effectively addresses most downsides of a voter ID law. Assuming a federal ID system of this sort were enacted, the strategy of the democrats would just be to enact a federal law mandating that all voter ID laws accept EFID as valid identification. With the downsides of voter ID accounted for, the democratic party can move into a more aggressive stance combatting misinformation on voter fraud itself.

3. Social media verification and combatting foreign interference 

Though the infestation of autonomous profiles or “bots” has long been a problem in online spaces, the advent of artificial intelligence has made the accessibility of bot creation significantly more widespread. No platform has had a more visible problem with this than X under Elon Musk; estimates vary widely but generally fall in the range of 20% - 60% of activity being attributable to bots^[2]. The problem of unreliability of information found on social media is much broader than just bot accounts however, the clarity of this was solidified in late 2025 when a feature rollout on X made it possible to view the country accounts are operated from. Community sleuthing quickly uncovered that a large number of pro-Trump accounts were run by foreigners pretending to live within the United States^[3]. Cultivating a healthy information environment for our political system to operate within requires radical transparency of sources and EFID could allow us to take a large step in that direction. Using a two factor code allows for verification of citizenship without putting personal data at risk by sending an image of a physical ID, a social media company could confirm the validity of a profile by submitting a code and receiving a simple yes or no from the government. Once integrated, verification of this kind might look as simple as a citizen badge on a user’s profile or as broad as altering the algorithm to prioritize verified accounts. The best way to implement this in a pragmatic way would be to forcibly apply a badge system paired with a pop up message that informs users of a settings toggle to prioritize ID verified accounts. This plan ensures that users of the platform are made aware of the foreign interference problem without making them feel forced to use the new feature. Despite my personal skepticism of the efficacy in the Australian policy, EFID could be used to age gate social media in the United States by requiring verification to create an account. 

4. Opening the door to addressing age gated products

The issue of ID verification for access to age gated products and spaces is something that, with some logistical tinkering, could be attacked with the use of an EFID system. Studies vary but generally find that the number of college age adults who have used a fake ID falls in the mid 40% range. ^[4] While policy has been enacted around the country attempting to disincentivize use of fake IDs, demand for the product remains high. Use of technology in the form of ID scanners have improved over time but are still not always reliable and can be tricked by higher quality fakes. The EFID program has potential to circumvent this issue by offering the ability for vendors to instantly verify the authenticity of an ID directly with the government. Utilizing an interface specially designed for businesses with a license to sell age gated products, cashiers would input the customer’s two factor code and be returned a yes or no for eligibility to purchase. Vendor logins could be customized by business to service varying age restrictions such as nightclubs that utilize alcohol wristbands or the sale of tobacco. The tinkering required for this use case would be addressing an underage customer borrowing the phone of an adult to make the purchase as the current outline for EFID does not include photo verification.

5. Closing thoughts

 Electronic federal ID as I’ve laid out should not be viewed as a comprehensive solution to federal ID. My policy was designed with the goal of supplementing the existing system to address modern shortcomings without requiring the creation of a new governmental body or large-scale reform of existing systems. While this policy could raise privacy concerns, well written language in the law barring tracking of individual IDs should ease these worries.