A license to wait
Just over a year ago, New Mexico’s new procedures for issuing driver’s licenses went in to place as a result of legislation making our licenses compliant with federal law. And boy, has it been a rough year. Motorists have reported having to make numerous trips to Motor Vehicle Division offices, whether public ones or those contracted to private operators. Employees have had to deal with angry customers, and offices have experienced turnover.
Over the year, the process has not greatly improved. (Witness firsthand reports from Santa Fe residents, published today in Opinions, relating experiences in obtaining their licenses at different times during the year.)
Earlier this month, the head of MVD announced he was resigning for personal reasons. With Will Duran’s resignation, we hope additional confusion does not follow. Obtaining driver’s licenses — whether authorization cards or Real ID-compliant ones — remains a complicated and confusing experience for many.
For 2018, let MVD take on this resolution. Make it easier for people — especially the elderly who might have irregular birth certificates or don’t use their birth names — to obtain licenses or authorization cards. Do this first by improving worker training, so that all employees in both public and private offices know what documents can be used to obtain licenses or cards. Find ways to empower workers. Is it really necessary that names match exactly across all documents, or could workers be allowed to decide that Jane Rose Smith is the same person as Jane R. Smith? Such discretion is allowed when people apply for passports, and if it’s not possible on Real ID-compliant licenses, surely it could be done for authorization cards.
To obtain Real ID-compliant licenses — which can be used to board airplanes or enter federal buildings — applicants must bring in a number of documents. Those include proof of identity and an identification number, such as a birth certificate or Social Security card, as well as papers proving residency. Those can be utility bills, bank statements and the like. A driver authorization card also requires four forms of proof, although it is not necessary to prove citizenship. Do more to inform people before they ever step foot in an office (especially women whose names change after marriage or divorce; they need to show proof, a marriage license or a divorce decree, for example).
It could be that the law might need to be rewritten, or that changes can be made in MVD rules. Getting a driver’s license should not be this difficult. Period.