Transition Watch: Real ID, ready or not

The Obama administration will inherit a real mess in the 3-year-old effort to mandate state adoption of digital identification card standards, according to a Computerworld report.

President-elect Barack Obama so far has made no comment about the Real ID initiative, and there’s no sign that anyone in the new administration wants to tangle with the program. Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano—nominated by Obama to become the next Homeland Security secretary—signed a bill this year barring her state from participating.

However, that experience could lead to a resolution of the contentious program since observers believe she could be more effective in negotiating with governors to find a way out of the current impasse, Computerworld said.