Only 27% of Pennsylvania drivers have a REAL ID, according to the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation, compared to 99% or 100% in several other states. Pennsylvania delayed rollout and charged for the federal identification, while some states made it free and integrated it into their standard requirements.
REAL ID, which is identified by a little star on driver's licenses, which will be required to enter some federal buildings or fly domestically.
"I haven't flown for years, but I do have a niece and nephew in Chicago," said Renee Steffensmeier. "So, it would be good to have it for emergencies."
Two weeks before enforcement begins, Steffensmeier is one of about 10 million Pennsylvanians who don't have a REAL ID.
Steffensmeier said she's tried to get one on three separate occasions over the past few years. The first time, she was missing original copies of her birth certificate and marriage license.
"The second time, they didn't like any of the iterations that I had of my Social Security card because I had changed my name when I got married," Steffensmeier said.
After getting a new birth certificate, marriage license and social security card, a worker told her she didn't have valid proof of address. Now, she said she's going to get a passport instead.
"It's made me really frustrated," Steffensmeier said. "And it's also made me very aware of the gender inequity, because it's all the women who are having trouble doing this."
The requirements for a REAL ID are the same in all 50 states. But the rollout hasn't been uniform. Previous Gov. Tom Corbett signed a law preventing Pennsylvania from issuing REAL IDs. The Commonwealth didn't start issuing them until 2019, even though Congress passed the REAL ID Act in 2005.
"There hasn't been an urgency because they kept moving the deadline back," Steffensmeier said. "So I was like, oh, well, you know, I'll do it next year. But this last time was just sort of the screw in the coffin."
Some states changed their standard driver's license requirements to also meet federal guidelines. About 99% of people in Maryland, nearly 100% in Georgia, and similar percentages in several other states already have a REAL ID. Nationally, the rate is at about 60%. Plus, some states do not charge extra for a REAL ID, while Pennsylvania does.
Speaking Wednesday at a virtual press conference, PennDOT Secretary Mike Carroll said some states like Georgia made it mandatory for drivers to get a REAL ID.
"In Pennsylvania, the General Assembly years ago made it optional for Pennsylvanians so they didn't have to get the REAL ID if they didn't want to," Carroll said.
The deadline for REAL ID enforcement is May 7. The Transportation Security Administration said it will implement a phased enforcement rollout on that date, so it isn't clear if Americans without a REAL ID will be turned away from flying yet.
Beginning a few weeks ago, PennDOT has opened many of its centers on Mondays for REAL ID transactions only to help Pennsylvania meet federal compliance. Typically, DMVs are closed on Mondays.
"I will warn folks that the lines are a little long at the drivers centers these days," said PennDOT Secretary Mike Carroll at a press conference earlier this month. "I know it's human nature. Folks wait till the last minute to get things done. But as I said at the beginning, it is the last minute."
Congress is also moving to require proof of citizenship for voters. The SAVE Act was introduced in the House in January and has drawn criticism from Democrats.
Steffensmeier worries she could face the same hurdles as trying to get a REAL ID.
"It's going to be the same issue," Steffensmeier said. "It's going to make it impossible for many people to vote."
Steffensmeier worries if Congress does pass the SAVE Act many people, especially women who changed their names, will give up on voting since it could become too much of a hassle.
