The Real ID Act of 2005 turns our state driver's licenses into a national ID card, costs over $20 billion dollars, infringes privacy, and imposes major burdens on taxpayers, anybody renewing a driver's license, seniors, immigrants, transgender people, and state governments - while doing nothing to protect against terrorism. When you renew your driver's license, you'll need to show up at the DMV in person with a certified copy of your birth certificate and multiple documents proving your address -- and copies of all these documents will be stored in databases which are linked together across states, a huge target for identity thieves. The list of problems with this law goes on and on ... and it's not to late to stop it.
A huge coalition is fighting Real ID, and we need your help. The Department of Homeland Security's open comment period ends on May 8; it's vital to let them know how we the people feel about this law.
To file your comments online, go to the regulations.gov docket, click on "Add Comment" on the right-hand side, and follow the instructions -- make sure you go through the confirmation screen, click on submit, and get a receipt. If you'd prefer a more user-friendly option, check out the EFF's page; you can also submit comments by postal mail.
For sample comments to use as a starting point (and more about what's wrong with Real ID), please see here, here, or the lists of talking ponts here and here.
For more about the campaign, please see the press release. For more about Real ID, please see the Stop Real ID Now! blog and the Real Nightmare website.
Congress passed the Real ID Act without any kind of debate; it's up to us, the American people, to stop it. Please act now -- and please post and forward this alert!