Please read Section 201(3)-(4) of the Real ID Act:
(3) OFFICIAL PURPOSE- The term 'official purpose' includes but is not limited to accessing Federal facilities, boarding federally regulated commercial aircraft, entering nuclear power plants, and any other purposes that the Secretary shall determine.
(4) SECRETARY- The term 'Secretary' means the Secretary of Homeland Security.
Source: https://www.dhs.gov/xlibrary/assets/real-id-act-text.pdf
In other words, the Secretary of Homeland Security has unilateral authority to expand the uses of real IDs. In their 2008 rule, DHS even doubled down:
"DHS does not agree that it must seek the approval of Congress as a prerequisite to changing the definition in the future (except of course to remove one of the three statutorily-mandated official purposes) as § 201(3) of the Act gives discretion to the Secretary of Homeland Security to determine other purposes."
That could include voting, accessing medical care, etc. Do you trust Kristi Noem with this power? Do you trust every future secretary with this power?
If not, I urge you to not get a real id if you don't have one, or turn in your real id for a state one if you do have one, and instead get a passport. The DHS cannot enforce anything if the majority of Americans refuse to get real ids. Let us not just bow down to a national id that invades our privacy and could be used to control us.
I have been waiting over a year to get a passport. They're so backed up that they literally just send you your documents back and ask you to reapply in a given amount of time. It's also more expensive to get a passport than it is to get a driver's license or "real ID" and you may not have the option to just not have one if you work somewhere that requires it (like an airport).
If your concern is that they might change the rules about being allowed to use Real ID for voting (or that having a Real ID would be a requirement for voting, excluding non-Real ID licenses or state ID's because the government could potentially invalidate the ID you do have, I'm going to point out that in this time where ICE is literally stealing people off the street regardless of their legal status in the country and deporting them, what you're suggesting doesn't make sense especially with the higher bar of entry for a passport, and the fact that some states do not any longer provide any other option besides passport or REAL ID.
I paid for expedited but I got mine like 6 weeks or slightly less in April
Got passports back in march...took 8 weeks. Never heard of it taking a year.
"ICE is literally stealing people off the street", therefore we shouldn't fight against laws that give more power to DHS? Flawless logic.
As in, not being able to readily Identify yourself because you don't renew a license or state ID because you're protesting the Real ID implementation and roll out is likely to result in you not receiving due process.
Ok, I did not tell people to not have a license at all. If you live in a state where you can only get a real id (Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, Texas, Wyoming), absolutely renew it. However, if you don't live in those states, you can turn in your real id for a state one, and I'm recommending that everyone do that.
As for "not being able to readily identify yourself", it is my opinion that no one should be required to carry their id and that if the police stop you, you should only provide what is legally required of you. Illinois for example is a no id state, and the police cannot ask you to identify yourself. However, I also recognize that there are dangers to asserting your rights against law enforcement. If you fear for your life, then of course there is no shame in complying with what is requested of you.