From Bush saying 'go'.....it took almost five years for 50 states to build Real-ID/Star-Card from scratch.
The incredible thing? Well....most states still geared the regular old driver's license to continue.....so there was path 'A' for the cheap normal license.....and path 'B' the more expensive Real-ID/Star-Card.
Why? Well.....states kept saying the documents to prove who you are.....where you live....was incredibly 'hard'.
To be honest.....over the four times that I've renewed my Alabama license....I went to the cheap normal license.....without the documentation crap.
Now? I have a passport, military ID, and a German resident card.....which fills the requirement. I guess in the next year......I will procure the Star-Card. Why? Something in my gut says....by November 2026....voting will be nearly impossible without the card.
The grumbling business? Well....it's mostly over a trip to the license office....which typically means two to three hours of sitting there. It also means you have at least three soap operas start up....where such-and-such character is half-drugged-up, and trying to explain why he's homeless and needs a ID.
