( CNN ) -- In December , the U.S. Department of Justice intervened under the Voting Rights Act to stay a South Carolina voter ID law . Controversy rages over similar laws in Georgia and Texas . Many expect Justice Department action against the Texas law . ( The Georgia law was approved in 2005 by the Bush administration Justice Department . ) The argument against voter ID goes as follows : . The most common form of ID in the United States is a driver 's license . Nonwhite registered voters are somewhat less likely than whites to have driver 's licenses . In South Carolina , for example , the gap is nearly 20 % . Therefore , voter ID will have a discriminatory effect . But then we 're left with a question : What happens when those minority South Carolinians need social services ? How do they identify themselves then ? Then , of course , they rely on a Social Security number . But Social Security numbers are notoriously prone to theft , fraud and tampering . The IRS counted more than 400,000 cases of theft of Social Security numbers in the 18 months from mid-2009 to the end of 2011 . Surely that is only the tip of the iceberg . You do n't sustain a population of 10 million to 12 million illegal aliens without lots and lots of fake Social Security numbers . In other words , the U.S. has created two forms of de facto ID : one ( Social Security ) that is universal , but not reliable ; another ( state-issued driver 's licenses ) that is reliable , but not universal . Obvious question : Why ca n't we have a system of personal identification that is universal and reliable ? Modern technology enables the design of just such a card while also protecting and even enhancing personal privacy . Imagine you are a 22 year old who wants to buy a case of beer . ( Or a 66 year old who wants to buy a discount movie ticket . ) You present your driver 's license that shows on its face your date of birth , and the cashier computes whether you qualify . But that card actually discloses more information than the cashier requires . The cashier is asking a `` yes '' or `` no '' question : 21 or older ? 65 or older ? Or imagine that you are an employer who wants to check a job applicant 's eligibility for work . Again , the card the employer will see presents more information than required . The employer does n't care whether you are a citizen or a permanent resident or where you were born or when you became a resident alien . He just wants a `` yes '' or `` no '' to the question : Eligible to work ? Same thing at the polls . The poll watchers do n't need to know whether today is your birthday . They do n't need to know your height or weight . They just need to know : Are you who you say you are ? And are you eligible to cast a ballot ? On its face , it would carry only your name and image . That 's all most people need most of the time to confirm your identity ; for example , when checking the name on your airline ticket against the person bearing the ticket . But none of the other information that now appears on your driver 's license needs to appear there . Not the address . Not the date of birth . No the height or weight . Information beyond face and name would be encrypted inside the card and would be divulged only to specific scanners . Liquor store owners would have machines that could read only the answer to the `` 21 or older ? '' question . Employers would have machines that could read only the `` eligible to work ? '' question . Voting places would read only `` eligible to vote ? '' Departments of Motor Vehicles in each of the states could encrypt motorist information onto the card . If you moved to another state , you would not need a new card . A visit to the DMV in the new state would wipe out the obsolete motorist information and substitute the new . Police might have more sophisticated scanners that could read more exactly your address or date of birth or citizenship status . The card would have encrypted information useful to prevent social service fraud ; for example , the number of children you have so you ca n't enroll for more benefits than for which you qualify . The card might also carry encrypted medical information useful in case of emergency such as blood type and allergies to medicines . None of this information would be visible to the casual observer . None would be available except to those with a right and need to access it . The card need not be compulsory . Even in France , supposedly the homeland of Big Government statism , the national ID card is noncompulsory . But the card would add so much convenience to life that most people would want it : one ultrasecure document that smoothed your way through the modern world -- and guaranteed no-questions asked about your rights to vote , work , drive and purchase alcohol . Such a card , available for free to all , should obviate all objections to the seemingly commonsense requirement that we not just `` take your word for it '' when you vote or apply for social benefits . The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of David Frum .
The Justice Department is seeking to stop a South Carolina voter ID law . David Frum says that minorities are much less likely to have most common ID , a driver 's license . He says a new national identity card would enable voting , other government services . DAVID FRUM, HOST: The card would be free and would be a convenience that people would value .