Mainers among victims of unconstitutional Real ID law

Portland Press Herald, ME - Mainers may not be able to board a plane using their driver’s licenses starting in 2016 if the state does not start complying with the federal Real ID program.

In 2007, Maine became the first state to reject the federal regulations adopted in response to a study on national security after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. Federal officials wanted to make driver’s licenses more uniform and secure, but opponents said the federal law was too sweeping and intrusive.

Non-compliance, however, has restricted the ability of residents from some states to access some federal buildings, and that is likely to increase.

The act requires states to maintain a database of license applicants’ information that is accessible to the federal government, and take photos of applicants that can be scanned by facial recognition software.

As of April this year, people from states that have not complied can no longer use their driver’s licenses to access some federal buildings, such as the Department of Homeland Security headquarters in Washington, D.C.

In July, the licenses were no longer adequate to access restricted federal facilities, such as the U.S. Mint and nuclear power plants. Residents from non-complying states need passports to enter those buildings. As of January, the licenses will not be adequate to get into semi-restricted federal facilities where a license or passport currently is required.

And by Jan. 19, 2016, Maine driver’s licenses may no longer be an acceptable ID to board aircraft.

.... Concerns about the Real ID program have united libertarian-minded citizens from both parties, especially over the portion of the law that creates a federal database of personal information that would be maintained by the state and accessible to federal officials.

“You might as well just repeal the Fourth Amendment,” Dunlap said, referring to the prohibition against unreasonable search and seizures of property.

Currently, Maine, Massachusetts, Oklahoma, Alaska, Arizona, and Louisiana have refused to comply with the Real ID program, and several other states have not met every requirement, although most have indicated they will.