The Real ID Act, which is a law signed by President Bush in May 2005, and, if it is accepted by and carried out by the states, would turn state drivers licenses into a genuine national identity card and impose numerous new burdens on taxpayers, citizens, immigrants, and state governments.
Real ID would force the states to standardize drivers licenses cards across the nation into a single national identity card and database. It does this by stipulating that state drivers licenses and state ID cards will not be accepted for federal purposes including boarding an aircraft or entering a federal facility unless they meet all of the laws numerous conditions, which include:
Standardized data elements and security features on the IDs.
A machine readable zone that will allow for the easy capture of all the data on the ID by stores or anyone else with a reader.
The construction of a 50-state, interlinked database making all the information in each persons file available to all the other states and to the federal government.
A requirement that states verify the issuance, validity and completeness of every document presented at motor vehicles agencies (usually called DMVs) as part of an application for a Real ID card.
Whats Wrong With Real ID
Its a national identity system. The standardized national drivers licenses created by Real ID would become a key part of a system of identity papers, databases, status and identity checks and access control points an internal passport that will increasingly be used to track and control individuals movements and activities.
Will not be effective against terrorism. The fact is, identity-based security is not an effective way to stop terrorism. ID documents do not reveal anything about evil intent and even if they did, determined terrorists will always be able to obtain fraudulent documents (either counterfeit or real documents bought from corrupt officials).
Will be a nightmare for state governments. Real ID requires state governments to remake their drivers licenses, restructure many of their computer databases and other systems, create an extensive new document-storage system, and perhaps most difficult of all verify the issuance, validity and completeness of every document presented at DMVs. See Real Burdens.
Will mean higher fees, long lines, and bureaucratic nightmares for individuals. Because Congress ordered but did not pay for these mandates, which will cost states billions of dollars, fees on individuals applying for drivers licenses will inevitably rise, perhaps steeply. Individuals are also likely to confront slower service, longer lines, and frequent bureaucratic snafus in obtaining these ID cards. Many unlucky individuals will find themselves caught in a bureaucratic nightmare as they run up against the complexities of this law.
Increased security and ID-theft risks. The creation of a single interlinked database as well as the requirement that each DMV store copies of every birth certificate and other documents presented to it will create a one-stop shop for identity thieves.
Will be exploited by the private sector to invade privacy. Real ID would make it easy for anybody in private industry to snap up the data on these IDs. Already, bars often swipe licenses to collect personal data on customers but that will prove to be just the tip of the iceberg as every convenience store learns to grab that data and sell it to data companies for a dime.
Will expand over time. The Real ID database will inevitably, over time, become the repository for more and more data on individuals, and will be drawn on for an ever-wider set of purposes. Its standardized machine-readable interface will drive its integration into an ever-growing network of identity checks and access control points each of which will create new data trails that will in turn be linked to that central database or its private-sector shadow equivalent.
The Real ID Act has been passed by Congress and signed into law by President Bush. But its acceptance in the states is far from assured. And the states have to come into compliance, or their citizens drivers licenses will eventually no longer be accepted for federal purposes. But the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) must first complete work creating regulations that spell out in more detail exactly what the states must do to make compliant IDs.
The Act was not passed through a true democratic process. It was slipped through Congress in May 2005 in a must-pass Iraq War/Tsunami relief supplemental bill, as part of a deal reached between the powerful Rep. James Sensenbrenner (R, Wis.) and the Congressional leadership. There was no time for sufficient consideration of the Act and its sweeping implications; in the Senate, there was not even a single hearing held on the Act. The result is that Real ID lacks the legitimacy that comes from having been studied, debated, considered, and directly voted upon by Americans elected representatives.
The game is not over, it has just moved into the states. Although the Act was passed by Congress, Real ID cannot go into effect without a multitude of actions in the states. State legislatures must appropriate money and, in most cases, change state laws. State executives must remake or build anew all the administrative machinery required to comply with the Acts numerous mandates. And a lot of people at the state level do not like what they see.
Broad interest-group opposition. Opponents range from privacy and civil liberties organizations like the ACLU to conservative groups to immigration groups.
Its a bad Act. Most fundamentally, the Real ID Act has sparked opposition because it would not be good for our country.
The opposition to Real ID is broad and deep, and despite its passage by Congress, there remains an excellent chance that it will be reversed in part or in whole.
Simply put, Real ID would offer significant costs and disadvantages without any corresponding advantages:
By definitively turning drivers licenses into a form of national identity documents, Real ID would have a tremendously destructive impact on privacy.
The Act would impose significant administrative burdens and expenses on state governments, and would mean higher fees, longer lines, repeat visits to the DMV, and bureaucratic nightmares for individuals.
Yet, it would not be effective at increasing security against terrorism or bring any other benefits which would justify those costs.