Will Real ID Cause Chaos at the DMV?
Governors revolt over new rules for driver's licenses
Back in May 2005, few really considered the broad implications of the Real ID Act, a bill designed to improve the security of driver's licenses in every state. Attached to an emergency funding measure for the Iraq war, Real ID slipped through Congress and was signed by the president-with little scrutiny but big effects. "The amount of congressional attention paid to something so game changing," says one Washington lobbyist, "was ... microscopic."
These days Real ID is hard to miss, and the nation's governors are up in arms over it. In less than two years, it will require states to begin issuing upgraded driver's licenses to roughly 245 million Americans. Although most governors say they'd like to improve identification security, many say the Real ID Act creates a multibillion-dollar unfunded mandate and deadlines that are impossible to meet. It may also mean longer lines at Department of Motor Vehicles offices nationwide and new costs for consumers. Governors like Mike Huckabee of Arkansas hope the new Congress "will throw us a lifeline" and make changes to Real ID. Whether that's necessary is the subject of debate. But if changes aren't made, Washington is in for a bipartisan revolt in the states.
There's little question driver's licenses could use some securing. In the current system, easily forged birth certificates or utility bills are often taken as proof of identity or residency. Jonathan Frankel of the Department of Homeland Security says that means there's "no guarantee ... the person holding the document bears a relationship to the name and identity on the license." The 9/11 commission found that the 19 hijackers secured 13 driver's licenses, seven of them by falsely claiming that they lived in Virginia.
Real ID aimed to fix that. By May 11, 2008, all licenses must be machine readable, meaning any law enforcement officer will be able to, say, scan your license's bar code and make sure the digital information matches what's on the front; that will make tampering more difficult. DMVs will also have to verify identity documents like birth certificates or baptismal records. In most cases, images of those documents will be scanned into computers, where they must be held for up to 10 years. States must share, at minimum, the information printed on the license to prevent fraud. Residents of states that don't comply will no longer be able to use their license for federal purposes like boarding an airplane.
Obstacles. But states are questioning whether Real ID is feasible. Many DMVs haven't started needed upgrades because they're still waiting for detailed DHS guidance on how to proceed. Meanwhile, a report released in September by the National Governors Association and other groups estimated that Real ID, which would require more DMV employees and the purchase of new technology, could cost states over $11 billion in five years. The report also said the time it takes for a consumer to renew a license would more than double. In many cases, conveniences like renewing by mail will be abolished. DHS disputes claims about longer lines and is working on a new cost estimate. Still, "if this bill really goes forward," says Jim Harper of the Cato Institute, "I think you'll see many red-blooded Americans leaping over DMV counters in sheer rage."
Huckabee says governors are already "universal" in their rage. Places as varied as New Hampshire, Washington, and Kentucky have considered bills that would prohibit participation in the effort or at least urge Real ID's repeal. Also controversial: special Real ID licensing rules for certain legal immigrants. Illegal immigrants can't have a Real ID license at all.
All that anger falls to a new Congress, which must sort out what, if anything, to do. The September report called for extending the deadline and handing more dough to states. Speaker-to-be Nancy Pelosi opposed Real ID when it first came up in early 2005, but Democrats, eager to "get tough" on security, "haven't committed to much of anything yet," says David Quam of the governors association. In coming weeks, though, they may have to take a stand. Sitting on the fence on Real ID looks like a license for trouble.
This story appears in the December 18, 2006 print edition of U.S. News & World Report.
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