March 28, 2008 6:23AM 

# “New Hampshire Joins Montana in Real ID Victory” 

By [Jim Harper](https://www.cato.org/people/jim-harper) 

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So reports [*Wired*’s “Threat Level” blog](http://blog.wired.com/27bstroke6/2008/03/new-hampshire-j.html) as the Department of Homeland Security capitulates in the face of New Hampshire’s rejection of REAL ID. The same thing happened [with Montana](https://www.cato.org/2008/03/23/montana-wins-real-id-standoff/).

> The key? The renegade states send a nice letter that is not a request for an extension of a looming deadline but touts the security of their driver’s licenses, which the Department of Homeland Security accepts as an official extension request. That lets DHS save face, even as it backs down from repeated threats to punish the citizens of rogue states.

New Hampshire wins.

##### Related Tags 

[Defense and Foreign Policy](https://www.cato.org/defense-foreign-policy), [Constitutional Law](https://www.cato.org/constitutional-law), [Technology and Privacy](https://www.cato.org/technology-privacy), [Robert A. Levy Center for Constitutional Studies](https://www.cato.org/robert-levy-center-constitutional-studies) 

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