Hi Tweeters,

As is usually the case, the combined knowledge of all of you in tweeterland
has far surpassed my elementary understanding of Washington State's
Enhanced Driver's License program. Many of you responded to my e-mail that
I sent this morning - some copying tweeters and others were private
responses. I want to summarize all of the responses here so that all of
you have the benefit of those responses. My apology for the length of this
e-mail:

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Apparently standard Washington drivers licenses don't require proof of
residency. That's the issue that the article below discusses.
http://www.seattletimes.com/life/travel/standard-drivers-license-soon-wont-get-you-aboard-aircraft/

"The federal REAL ID Act, passed in 2005, requires proof of U.S.
citizenship or proof of lawful status in the U.S. in order for a license to
be valid for federal use. People without valid federal IDs might
eventually need a passport or have to go through other screening processes
in order to travel domestically or enter federal buildings."Washington
state already offers enhanced driver?s licenses and IDs that are valid
under the federal law. The state?s enhanced driver?s license or ID card
costs more than the standard issue and requires presentation of proof of
citizenship, such as an original birth certificate or a naturalization
certificate. Standard Washington licenses or ID cards can be upgraded to
enhanced status for a calibrated fee of $3 per year remaining on your
current license or ID card. The other option for flying is to present a
U.S. passport, which costs more than a state ID and can take up to five
weeks to obtain."
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Others may also respond but I wanted to tell you that Washington State does
have an enhanced driver's license. You have to go through an interview
with someone at the WA Dept. of Licensing to get it but it is readily
available if you want one. I've had one for about five years.
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Jim: I just got my drivers license renewed and in the info sent me it
talked about the enhanced drivers license and from that info I gathered
that its addition added on so you can go to Canada and probably Mexico-who
the hell knows... I passed my info onto anther scared senior citizen. If
you call up the WA license web it will tell you. Think it is about $10
more.m That?s a heck of a lot cheaper then a passport?esp when they screw
the passport up in the first place and make a correction. What a
frustration that was for me going to Australia thru Hawaii. It was a
Japanese at HI airport that gave me a bad time.
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This change was made at JBLM as well I believe Jan. 1st? Sometime around
there.. it was on a National level. How strictly it's enforced? I'm not
sure. I wasn't required but was prepared haven been pre-approved probably
helped? I don't know.
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Washington State does offer Enhanced Drivers Licenses, Enhanced
Intermediate Licenses, and Enhanced ID Cards.
http://www.dol.wa.gov/driverslicense/edlget.html
I have a WA Enhanced Drivers License and it works well at the Yakima
Training Center, where I also have the required annual YTC Recreation Card.
I think the Rec' Card costs about $10. Getting one requires reading some
material on YTC regulations and signing that you agree to follow those
regulations. It's available at the gym / Rec' Center. In addition to the
Enhanced Drivers License and YTC Rec' Card, Vehicle Registration and proof
of current vehicle insurance are also required on every visit. Motorcycles
are not permitted down range. Accessing Priest Rapids Lake, and entering
and leaving the base through any place other than the main gate, though
commonly practiced, continues to be explicitly prohibited.
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Alternatively, I believe if you have a valid passport that also would work
if you know in advance you will be visiting a military base.
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We are life long WA residents who have enhanced drivers licenses.
They are also good for entering Canada. They take a photo of your eye
pupil to confirm I d.
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This rule does apply at JBLM, and requires a passport or a WA enhanced
driver's license which allows access to and from Canada without a passport.
There may be some other photo id that would suffice as well, but a regular
WA driver's license is no longer sufficient.
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Here's how to get a WA EDL:

http://www.dol.wa.gov/driverslicense/edl.html
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They don't know in Arizona what is happening in Washington. I have had an
enhanced drivers license here for years.
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I hope this information helps.

Thanks again tweeterland!

Jim Danzenbaker
Battle Ground, WA

On Wed, Jul 27, 2016 at 12:24 PM, Jim Danzenbaker <jdanzenbaker at gmail.com>
wrote:

> Tweeters,
>
> This is an fyi for birders who may be visiting birding locations that are
> on or accessed through military bases in the United States.
>
> Several weeks ago, I spent some quality time in southeast Arizona enjoying
> such specialties as Slate-throated Redstart, Buff-collared Nightjars,
> Five-striped Sparrows, and Rufous-capped Warbler. I ended my five day trip
> with a planned visit to Huachuca Canyon which is accessed through Fort
> Huachuca Army Installation located next to Sierra Vista, AZ. As is
> typically the case when entering a military base as a visitor, sign in and
> obtaining a visitor pass is required. Everything went smoothly until the
> officials asked me what state I was from. When I said "Washington", I was
> asked for TWO forms of photo identification. I had only one. The reason
> why two forms were required for Washington State driver's license holders
> is because the state of Washington does not have an enhanced driver's
> license (whatever that is). They asked me for a car registration since
> that would be a valid photo identification substitute. I had a rental car
> so that didn't work. I eventually found my USAA credit card and, since I
> was requesting a Visitor Pass for only 6 hours, I ws eventually approved
> for the one time visit.
>
> My thought for the Tweeters community is that if you are planning on
> visiting a birding location which is accessed through a military base and
> you have a Washington State driver's license, be prepared to be asked for a
> second form of photo identification. According to the officer who I spoke
> with, this rule may not be applied consistently across all military bases
> but it certainly seems to be enforced at Fort Huachuca. He mentioned that
> they were able to come up with an alternate plan for visitors with an
> Arizona driver's license (must be another state which doesn't have an
> enhanced license) since they get so many visitors with Arizona driver's
> licenses.
>
> I don't know if this rule applies to visitors entering Lewis-McCord or if
> they've come up with an Arizona type plan which waives the two photo
> identification requirement for in-state driver's license holders.
>
> I hope this helps any of you who may be planning out of state birding
> locations accessed through military locations.
>
> Keep your eyes and ears skyward.
>
> Jim
> --
> Jim Danzenbaker
> Battle Ground, WA
> 360-702-9395
> jdanzenbaker at gmail.com
>



--
Jim Danzenbaker
Battle Ground, WA
360-702-9395
jdanzenbaker at gmail.com
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