But what about entering one anonymously?

In the US, if you do not have a passport and want to apply for a new one, you have to go to certain places where an authorized person will check your paperwork, see that you match the paperwork and send that directly to the passport office. Generally, county clerks and large post offices are the places that most people go. In some states, libraries are also authorized to do so. In 2026, Trump signed an executive order banning libraries from doing so. Libraries were doing the service for free. County clerks in my state charge around $50 for the service. The libraries doing this service were almost always in "blue" districts.

The SAVE ACT [0], which passed the House of Representatives last year (and is stalled in the Senate) only allows 4 types of identity documents to be allowed to register to vote in federal elections:

1. A US Passport, 2. A US Military ID with proof of US citizenship. 3. A US REAL ID with proof of US citizenship [1]. 4. A US REAL ID without proof of US citizenship, plus a US birth certificate and the names must match [2].

Notes:

0 - https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/22/t...

1 - This is called Enhanced Driving License. It exists in only 5 states (Michigan, Minnesota, New York, Vermont, and Washington) and is an additional $35-40 above the cost of a regular driving license.

https://www.tsa.gov/realid/realid-faqs

2 - In the US, it is common for a wife to take her husband's surname. This means that 74,000,000 US women will lose the right to vote in federal elections if they don't spend $150 (for a new passport) or hundreds-to-thousands of dollars changing their name legally.

Libraries track what books you read (nowadays via some database and in the past via paper)