On March 25th, President Donald Trump signed an Executive Order titled Preserving and Protecting the Integrity of American Elections. This EO was aimed at securing U.S. elections after years of claims of widespread voter fraud and illegal voting. While there does exist some element of truth to these claims, they are being exploited to push the United States closer to requiring digital ID's not only for voting, but for daily life.

The EO states that the US "fails to enforce basic and necessary election protections employed by modern, developed nations". It highlights how nations like India and Brazil are "tying voter identification to a biometric database". Although the EO does not explicitly mention the US operating a similar biometric database, that is absolutely the long term plan.

The EO outlines what qualifies as "documentary proof of United States citizenship", including an identification document which is "compliant with the requirements of the REAL ID Act of 2005 that indicates the applicant is a citizen of the United States".

The REAL ID Act was first passed in 2005 after a recommendation by the fraudulent 9/11 Commission in the wake of the 9/11 attacks. Many US states have resisted implementing the REAL ID measures for the last 20 years. However, the years of avoiding compliance with the REAL ID Act are now coming to an end on May 7th, 2025.

In January, one week before Trump returned to the White House, the TSA published the final rule for enforcement of REAL ID compliant identification cards. Beginning on May 7th, Americans attempting to board commercial flights or enter federal building will need to display state-issued driver's licenses and identification cards that meet the security requirements established by the REAL ID Act.

"Congress passed the REAL ID Act in 2005 to enhance security standards for identification, directly in response to the security vulnerabilities highlighted by the 9/11 attacks," former TSA Administrator David Pekoske said at the time. "Identity verification is foundational to security."

One form of "REAL ID compliant" identification which is becoming increasingly popular is known as mobile driver's license (mDL), or simply digital drivers licenses.

Real ID, Mobile Driver's Licenses, & Digital ID

Mobile driver's licenses are digital identification stored on a smart phone which typically include the same information as physical driver's licenses and identification cards. At the moment, not all mDLs are compliant with the requirements of the REAL ID Act, but the TSA is granting a waiver to certain states to allow residents to use the mDLs.