The recent editorial “Our View: Federal government has no credibility on Real ID” (Aug. 28) is misleading.

• First, the federal government isn’t having trouble getting states to commit to the Real ID Act standards.

As of July, 46 jurisdictions are either meeting or have committed to meeting the standards of the Real ID Act.

• Second, the Real ID Act doesn’t create a national database of information.

Nowhere in the Real ID Act itself or in its subsequent regulation is there a provision to create a national database, nor does it grant the federal government or law enforcement greater access to bureau of motor vehicles data.

• Third, the editorial noted that one of the goals of the Real ID Act is to determine who is in the country illegally.

The Real ID Act has little to do with immigration. Rather, it requires states to confirm the identity and lawful status of applicants who do not have access to the same documents as U.S. citizens.

• Additionally, it does allow for the issuance of driver’s licenses for illegal immigrants, and Real ID-compliant states have been able to do so (such as Maryland).

The Real ID Act established a voluntary list of standards aimed at making it more difficult for an individual to fraudulently obtain valid government-issued identification.

Despite the criticisms of an “Orwellian state,” the Real ID Act actually expands privacy protections.

It requires security upgrades for motor vehicle agencies that hold your personal data and background checks for the motor vehicle agency employees who have access to it, a necessary step to protect against insider fraud. Given the increases in privacy, a better question to ask is: Why hasn’t Maine moved forward like the rest of the country?