Kentucky GOP state senators call for extension of REAL ID deadline next month
Republicans in the Kentucky Senate are calling on the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to extend a federal deadline set for next month for travelers to have a REAL ID to board domestic flights and access other federal facilities.
A REAL ID is a type of identification card, including driver's licenses, with enhanced security protections issued by states following Congress' passage of the REAL ID Act in 2005.
After years of delays in requiring usage of these enhanced IDs, Kentuckians and people in other states have until May 7 before a REAL ID is needed to enter federal facilities, such as military bases or to get through airport security checkpoints to board domestic flights.
Sen. Jimmy Higdon, R-Lebonan, in a letter co-signed by other Republican state senators called on Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem to extend the deadline because Kentuckians need more time to obtain REAL IDs.
'While the intent behind the implementation of REAL ID is understandable, we believe the practical impact on Kentuckians must also be considered,' Higdon wrote in his April 17 letter. 'Despite significant progress, Kentucky is simply not fully prepared for complete implementation.'
Higdon also asked for 'more time to help Kentuckians understand that they may not need a REAL ID.' Standard driver's licenses will still be valid for daily use within the state, he stressed. He encouraged people to review their options and choose the form of identification that best fits their circumstances.
Higdon, the chair of the Kentucky Senate Transportation Committee, in a column posted to the social media platform X wrote many people have contacted him 'about the inconvenience of renewing a driver's license these days' including long wait times at regional driver's licensing state offices and a new requirement of a vision test to renew a driver's license.
A recent report by CBS News found many states are lagging in the percentage of citizens who have a REAL ID. According to data compiled by CBS News from state motor vehicle departments, in 30 states fewer than 70% of IDs are compliant with REAL ID standards. New Jersey had the lowest compliance rate at 17%, while Kentucky had a compliance rate of about 36%.
Higdon in his column wrote that other forms of federal identification, such as passports and passport cards, can be used as an alternative to a REAL ID to get through airport security.
An emailed request for comment sent to a Kentucky Transportation Cabinet spokesperson asking about the letter from state senators was not immediately returned Wednesday afternoon.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
9 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Gavin Newsom Just Dragged Bed Bath & Beyond For Refusing To Open Stores In California, And People Are Absolutely Loving The Pettiness
One word to describe Gavin Newsom these days is — unfiltered. The Governor of California and his team have been openly mocking Republicans from his Press Office X account... Related: And rage-baiting MAGA with culture war posts... Well, Newsom's latest target is the retail chain Bed Bath & Beyond, which is officially making a comeback after filing for bankruptcy and closing all 360 stores in 2023. The retail chain's executive chairman, Marcus Lemonis, recently announced that the franchise will not open any new stores in the state of California. Related: Lemonis wrote in a recent X post that the decision wasn't about politics, but rather "reality," citing "higher taxes, higher fees, and higher wages" in California as the main issues. "California's system makes it nearly impossible for businesses to succeed, and I won't put our company, our employees, or our customers in that position," Lemonis wrote. Related: Well, Newsom's response is going viral. People are loving it in the replies. Related: "I just cackled I'm sorry," this person commented. "lmfaooooo idgaf just make him president already. We deserve to go down as a nation with a hot sassy bitch from California," another person wrote. What are your thoughts? Let us know in the comments below. Also in In the News: Also in In the News: Also in In the News:
Fox News
9 minutes ago
- Fox News
The redistricting effort in California is more about whether or not the Constitution and fairness to the people will be maintained, says Rep. Darrell Issa
Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., weighs in on Gov. Gavin Newsom's redistricting efforts and their fairness to Californians on 'The Story.'
USA Today
11 minutes ago
- USA Today
Trump's GOP on verge of big Texas win, but battle for power is only starting: 5 takeaways
Trump's Texas fight is aimed at giving the GOP an advantage in 2026 and a lame-duck president more power while in office. Democrats have other plans. A partisan battle in Texas over who holds power in Washington during the final two years of President Donald Trump's second term has unfurled into a nationwide debate drawing in top political figures as voters brace for another divisive election in 2026. The Lone Star State's GOP lawmakers are poised to send new congressional maps to Republican Gov. Greg Abbott on Aug. 21 that Trump and his allies hope will give them a strategic advantage in holding onto their majority in the U.S. House of Representatives. But the fight in Austin has spread beyond the state's borders and created significant uncertainty about who will be in position to govern during the second half of the Trump administration and after the next race for the White House. 'Game on,' New York Gov. Kathy Hochul wrote Aug. 20 in a social media post. She is one of several Democratic leaders considering their own steps like the Texas Republicans to re-draw congressional district borders inside their state. Here are five takeaways on the fast-spreading redistricting wars: Republicans have the upper hand if the redistricting war expands. States typically redo their congressional boundaries for voters every decade, specifically in the two years that follow a new census. But Trump has encouraged redistricting to happen ahead of the 2026 U.S. House elections. His motivation? The tendency of the party in the White House to lose seats in the U.S. House during the congressional elections that happen between presidential elections. Recent examples include the 1994, 2010, 2018 and 2022 political cycles. Trump and the GOP are hoping to break that trend or increase their 219-212 U.S. House majority through states with Republican legislatures that can draw congressional maps. By contrast, many Democratic states have passed laws and constitutional amendments creating independent commissions to draw their congressional district maps instead of politicians. That's part of why states such as Missouri and Indiana have discussed redistricting for Republican advantage, but the Democratic stronghold of Washington has ruled it out completely. Additionally, Ohio needs to re-draw its own congressional maps under a constitutionally-mandated process that would happen regardless of today's political climate, and Florida has created a special committee to re-draw congressional maps. Taken together, that means that there are three high-population states actively pursuing Republican seats, and so far California is the only major state likely to redistrict for Democrats ahead of 2026. A legal fight over the new Texas maps is brewing What's happening this week in Texas won't be the final say on whether the maps are permanent. That's for the courts to decide, though fights like this can take years to work their way through the system. Both Democrats and Republicans previewed their legal arguments during the Texas legislature's Aug. 20 House floor debate that ended in the House's approval of the Republican-favored new maps. Democratic lawmakers accused their GOP colleagues of 'packing' Hispanic voters into some districts and 'cracking' or 'diluting' their representation. Those are all key terms referring to practices that opponents have used when challenging maps in the past. They also asked Republicans whether they drew maps based on voters' Hispanic ethnicity since race-based gerrymandering is still illegal. Texas state Rep. Todd Hunter, the Republican author of the bill that changes the maps, explained that an outside law firm drew the maps, not members of the legislature or their in-house staff. He said he asked the firm to re-draw the maps to improve his party's 'political performance' in the state, using a term that he said was backed up by a recently decided federal court case. Hunter used the term repeatedly during hours of questioning by Democrats. Americans still don't like gerrymandering Americans haven't historically liked it when politicians draw maps in their favor, but they may support the practice when it benefits the party they agree with. A nationwide Reuters/Ipsos poll that ran from Aug. 13 to 18 found that a small majority of respondents thought the ongoing redistricting plans were 'bad for democracy,' and Democrats were more likely to think this than Republicans. A poll by the market research firm YouGov that ran Aug. 1 to 4 found that three-quarters of adults saw it as a 'major problem' when states draw maps to intentionally favor one party, and another one-fifth saw it as a 'minor problem.' These proportions, too, higher among Democrats and lower among Republicans. But in California, where Democratic lawmakers wants voters to decide in a Nov. 4 special election whether to redraw their own maps in favor of Democrats, a majority of voters support the initiative. The proposal has support from 57% of California voters, according to Gov. Gavin Newsom's own polling, as reported by Axios, including overwhelming support from Democrats and overwhelming opposition from Republicans. A Politico-UC Berkeley Citrin Center poll of nationwide voters that ran through Aug. 20 found about one-third of respondents said Democrats in California should 'fight back' with their own maps. That broke down to almost two-thirds of Democrats, one-third of independents, and about one-tenth of Republicans. New Democrats are getting their time in the spotlight Americans are seeing new faces emerge from the Democratic Party as they make national headlines fighting back against often better-known Texas Republicans. California Gov. Gavin Newsom, widely seen as a frontrunner for his party's presidential nomination in 2028, is one of them. His decision to go toe-to-toe with Texas and leverage his position in the only state with more congressional seats than the Lone Star State has meant an introduction to Americans all over the country and a national spotlight on his ideas. Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker, one of the names floated for vice president in 2024, got his name out there when he hosted Texas Democrats who fled their state for nearly two weeks. But the ongoing fight has also highlighted what anti-gerrymandering advocates have called an unfair map tilted toward Democrats in Illinois. New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, who says she wants to retaliate against Texas, is also gaining some attention. Another new face is Texas Rep. Nicole Collier of Fort Worth, who slept on the floor of the legislature. Texas Republican leaders have been requiring the Democratic lawmakers who broke quorum earlier this month to sign permission slips to leave the chamber and have a state police escort follow them around 24 hours a day to make sure they don't attempt to leave the state again. 'Today is not the end,' Collier said after the House passed the bill Aug. 20. 'It is the beginning, the start of a new Democratic party where we won't back down. … And we will push and push and push until we take over this country.' Barack Obama, Kamala Harris and Donald Trump are all involved Trump kicked off the firestorm when he called on Texas lawmakers to redraw the maps and provide five more Republican-leaning congressional districts. Now he's going toe-to-toe with Democratic Party standard bearers who have come into the fight. Former President Barack Obama posted on X that the attempt to re-draw districts in Texas was an 'assault on democracy,' and praised Texas Democrats. Now he's endorsed Newsom's plan to redistrict California's congressional maps in retaliation. Former Vice President Kamala Harris also called Collier while she stayed in the legislature: 'You really are inspiring so many people, and I just want you to know that you are among those who history will reveal to have been heroes of this moment. So you just stay strong and do what you are doing.' Harris ruled out a run for governor of her home state of California in 2026, leaving Americans to wonder whether she'll run for president in 2028. Contributing: Kathryn Palmer, USA TODAY
