AUGUSTA - Maine Secretary of State Matthew Dunlap says his office has received a people's veto application that could launch a referendum drive to overturn newly enacted legislation to tighten standards for getting a Maine driver's license.

Signing the measure earlier this month, Gov. John Baldacci said the bill's enactment joined Maine with 44 other states, including the rest of New England, in making proof of legal U.S. residency a requirement for getting a driver's license.

The federal Department of Homeland Security has been pressing to bring states into compliance with the Real ID Act of 2005. Some civil libertarians have been critical.

State officials said the people's veto application was submitted by Kathleen McGee of Bowdoinham. To force a statewide people's veto vote, petitioners would have submit more than 55,000 signatures.