American Civil Liberties Union of Ohio

Criminal Justice

Save the Date!
ACLU Statewide Conference
July 28, 2012 Your Voice! Your Power! 2012

Click here for highlights from the 2010 Conference

Updated 12.04.09

The federal REAL ID (Identification) Act of 2005 created a national ID card by requiring state IDs to meet federal specifications. State motor vehicle departments are also required to create a national database. The Department of Homeland Security issued final REAL ID regulations in 2008, but they failed to address privacy, data security and cost concerns.

The Washington Post reported on June 14, 2009 that federal lawmakers are taking a second look at Real ID and may reform or eliminate it soon.

The requirements of the Real ID Act were supposed to go into effect by the end of 2009, but it’s clear that the government will not meet its own deadline as many states refuse to comply with it.

Congress is considering a bill called PASS ID, which they claim will reform Real ID. But PASS ID has many of the same privacy problems as Real ID. Tell your elected officials that PASS ID is not good enough and demand a repeal of Real ID.

What's Happening in Ohio

In 2007, State Representative Diana Fessler introduced a resolution in the Ohio General Assembly urging Congress to repeal the Real ID Act, joining other states that have passed legislation rejecting Real ID.

Read the ACLU briefing paper on how REAL ID would impact Ohio.

Resources

Visit the ACLU website “Real Nightmare” for more on Real ID.

Visit the Electronic Privacy Information Center's Real ID web page.

Read news releases and articles concerning Real ID in our News Center.

Browse our webcasts for Real ID-related programs:

Government Spying

Privacy