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Politics : Formerly About Advanced Micro Devices -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: SilentZ who wrote (708626)	4/11/2013 7:02:13 PM
From: Tenchusatsu	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 1585789

Z, Because citizens take this stuff for granted. They don't expect to be asked "Papers, please." Yeah, I get that part, but naturalized citizens really shouldn't, especially given the process they had to go through in order to become citizens. I also get the fact that demanding "papers" from someone can be considered racist. I've seen that happen a few times. But having documents is just part of life for people who immigrated here legally and became citizens. Especially those who don't look white or speak English with an accent. Tenchusatsu

To: SilentZ who wrote (708626)	4/13/2013 9:04:09 AM
From: Alighieri	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 1585789

To Get An ID, You Need An ID In most states with voter ID laws, citizens must present birth certificates to obtain new photo IDs. Seniors and those born in rural areas, in particular, face a difficult time meeting the requirement because birth certificates weren't regularly generated in the 1930s and earlier. And many of these people were delivered by midwives, who often improperly spelled babies' and parents' names on birth documents. “People are caught in a Catch-22: You need a birth certificate to get this ID, but to get a birth certificate you have to have an ID. - Elisabeth MacNamara, League of Women Voters. If a state does have a person's birth certificate, they often must present a photo ID to obtain a copy. That can put an individual back at square one. "People are caught in a Catch-22: You need a birth certificate to get this ID, but to get a birth certificate you have to have an ID," says Elisabeth MacNamara, who heads the League of Women Voters. MacNamara also notes that a birth certificate may not be sufficient documentation for women who changed their names after marrying. States require them to present their marriage licenses or divorce decrees. Here are three longtime voters and their stories in trying to comply with new voter ID laws. Thelma Mitchell, Nashville, Tenn. When Thelma Mitchell, a retired state employee, learned that her old employee ID (which was issued by the state and included her photo) wouldn't meet Tennessee's new voter ID law, she went to a motor vehicle office to obtain a valid photo ID. The agency asked her for a birth certificate, but she didn't have one and was denied her request for a new ID. Mitchell, 93, has never had a birth certificate. She wasn't born in a hospital and was delivered by a midwife, in Alabama in 1918. Birth certificates, particularly for African-Americans in the South, weren't regularly generated at the time. As a result, Mitchell may not be able to vote this year for the first time in decades. "I got so mad" about being turned away, Mitchell said in an interview. "I was holding my peace to keep from telling him off. So I didn't get to vote." Another obstacle for Tennessee seniors: The state doesn't put photos on the licenses of drivers over age 65. This practice affects some 30,000 people, according to voting rights advocates in the state. Florence Hessing, Bayfield, Wis. At age 96, Florence Hessing is disabled, rarely leaves her home and votes by absentee ballot. She has a driver's license that expired a few years ago. She wrote to the state asking the requirements for obtaining a new photo ID under the state's recently enacted voter ID law. The response she received outlined the requirements and included a $28 fee — which angered Hessing because she expected the ID to be free. Hessing first had to come up with a birth certificate. She wrote to Iowa, where she was born, but the state had no official record. "I think that's a shift if I can't vote," Hessing said in an interview. "It'd feel like I was thrown out." Ruthelle Frank, Brokaw, Wis. Like Hessing and Mitchell, Frank, 84, was denied in her application for a new voter ID because she lacked a birth certificate. She was born in Wisconsin, has lived in the same home for 83 years and never had need of the document. "After I was married, we made several trips into Canada. I used my baptismal certificate to cross all the time," Frank said. "That's all I ever needed." She called her county's registrar of deeds, to no avail. The state's vital records office managed to find her birth certificate, but there were other problems — both her parents' names were misspelled, rendering the document invalid. "In order to get it corrected, I'd have to amend it. And it would cost $200," Frank said. "I decided I didn't want to spend $200 for the right to vote because I've always thought the right to vote was free. I don't think it's fair." http://www.npr.org/2012/01/28/146006217/why-new-photo-id-laws-mean-some-wont-vote