After nearly a decade with a moose and a mountain, Maine has a new driver’s license design coming down the pike. And while much of the attention is being paid to the addition of several recognizable Maine symbols, an important part of the story is a star eventually being placed in the upper-right corner.
The new license design, announced Monday by Maine Secretary of State Matthew Dunlap and slated to start being used this spring, loses the moose, keeps the mountain and adds an almost excessive list of other Maine icons: a lighthouse, black-capped chickadee, white pine cone, potato field and barn, sailboat and sunrise.
“Our staff has worked diligently to create a design that elegantly incorporates a variety of images that speak to the Maine experience, while also improving the security of these important identity documents,” Dunlap said in a press release, which also outlined additional forensic elements to make the Maine license harder to falsify.
Starting in July, the secretary of state’s office says Mainers will get to choose whether their new licenses also feature a small, gold outline of the state surrounding a star. That star is very important, not because of any inherent connection to Maine’s identity, but because it will signal compliance with the federal Real ID Act that regulates state-issued identification and was passed amid security concerns following the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
Maine has a complicated history with Real ID and its requirements, which include the use of facial recognition software and additional documentation proving a person’s identity, residence and citizenship status — copies of which will remain with the Maine Bureau of Motor Vehicles. Such requirements justifiably led to concerns about privacy and government overreach.
In 2007, Maine passed a law prohibiting state compliance with Real ID, and after the state received several waivers from the federal government, that refusal to comply eventually came to a head in 2016. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security denied a waiver renewal request from the state, and the federal government stopped accepting Maine driver’s licenses as valid identification to enter military bases in January 2017. An October 2020 federal deadline has also loomed, when non-compliant state IDs will no longer be accepted for domestic air travel.
Dunlap and others from both political parties long opposed Real ID compliance, and we shared many of those reservations, especially given the fundamental problems with the Real ID Act itself. But once the practical implications of continued noncompliance became clear, the Maine Legislature eventually made the pragmatic and correct decision in 2017 to move toward instituting Real ID requirements while, importantly, allowing Maine people to opt out of the program if they choose.
Maine is still one of 11 states not technically compliant with Real ID, and Dunlap’s office has until July 1, 2019, to meet the requirements. Kristen Muszynski, a spokeswoman for the Maine secretary of state, said the office is on track to meet that deadline, and that though the new driver’s license design will be rolled out this spring, the star noting Real ID compliance won’t be added until the beginning of July when those requirements are met.
At that point, anyone who chooses not to have a Real ID-compliant license when they renew their existing ID will receive one without the star, and will then need another form of accepted federal identification to access secure federal facilities or fly domestically on a commercial aircraft starting in October 2020.
Even if someone’s current Maine license is valid beyond October 2020, they too will need to get a new, Real ID-compliant license in order to fly without a different form of accepted identification.
The additional bureaucratic requirements involved with Real ID also mean increased costs when renewing a license. Renewal currently costs $30 but will increase to $55 for non-commercial, Real ID-compliant licenses.
It’s been a long and twisted road, but Maine will soon be compliant with Real ID requirements. Starting in July Mainers will need to decide: Will your license include a star, noting your agreement to be part of the federally-mandated identification program?