Driver's License Survey

States should require more and better forms of identification

• Three-quarters (73%) of adults agree with the 9/11 Commission that States should require more and better forms of identification before issuing driver’s licenses to preventterrorists from getting them.

• Southerners (78%) are most likely to agree that States should require more and better forms of identification, compared to the Northeast (73%), West (71%), and North Central (70%) regions.
• The strongest sentiment for stricter State requirements however, negatively skews with education. More than half of adults (51%) who have not completed high school are most apt to very strongly agree with this 9/11 Commission’s recommendation, compared to high school graduates (41%), those who have some college (39%), and college graduates (37%).

Adults would submit social security numbers or birth certificates

• Three-quarters of adults (75%) would be willing to submit a social security number or birth certificate before being granted a driver’s license, if they knew it would make it harder for a terrorist to obtain one. Half (49%) of the Americans surveyed would be extremely willing to submit to these additional license requirements. Only nine percent felt that they would not be very willing/extremely unwilling to submit a social security number or birth certificate for the same reason.
• Caucasians (8%) are least likely to report unwillingness to submit additional identification.

The statement “making it harder for a terrorist to obtain a driver’s license” is clear in its brevity. Once told that driver’s licenses enable people not only to board trains and airplane, but also to rent vans and trucks, buy firearms, and enter sensitive government buildings, willingness to comply remains virtually unchanged.

Adults would submit to thumb prints and facial scans

• Two-thirds of Americans (65%) would be willing to submit to a thumb print or facial scan before being granted a license if the information would only be used to screen for terror and other security threats. African Americans (14%) report the highest levels of unwillingness to cooperate in this manner (versus 7% among Caucasians and 5% among Hispanics).

Adults are less likely to vote for elected officials who support making obtaining a driver’s license easier

• Almost half (47%) of adults would be much less likely to vote for elected officials who make it easier to get licenses.

To view report with graphs, please download the pdf.