I just want my ballot mailed to me early, so I can deliver it by hand to my elections officer. I do not trust going to the polls. Trump might have his maga crazies there.
This is embarrassing to admit, but I don’t have a passport. I have never needed a passport. I have never traveled outside of the United States. International travel is expensive.
I represent about 50% of the country. About half of Americans do not have a passport. For many of us, it’s not even the lack of international travel that keeps us from owning a passport. It is the cost of the passport itself. A passport is $165 in a time of inflation and high grocery prices and increasing rent and insurance rates. That’s a lot of money for folks barely making it in the first place.
What if I told you that GOP lawmakers would like to make a passport the entry fee for voting?
Pretty insane, yet that is exactly what some GOP lawmakers want to do with an act they are proposing.
It’s called the SAVE Act, and it is diabolical.
I recently updated my driver’s license to a REAL ID. It wasn’t something I did for fun…I fly for work and my old license won’t work at airports anymore. Well, it will work, but there are fees and extra screening. Who wants to do either?
Another reason I wanted the REAL ID is because of the SAVE Act.
If passed, the SAVE Act would require a voter to prove citizenship. Easy, right? No, not that easy. Let’s use my experience as an example of how difficult it is to get a Real ID.
For reference, I am an American citizen who has never traveled out of the country and who has lineage in the states since the 1700s.
I looked up the requirements for a REAL ID. They included my birth certificate, which I had to order. I was born in Louisiana, so I had to complete the process online. I also needed a debit card and $15 for the birth certificate. It arrived about a week later.
I also needed two proofs of residence, like a utility bill, which isn’t easy to get when bills are paid online. I was able to find two bills, though, and I had my Social Security card, so I was set…or so I thought.
I waited about an hour at the local DMV, and was finally called up. I pulled out all of my documents and my license and told the clerk that I was applying for a REAL ID. She looked at my documents and asked why the name on my birth certificate was different from the name on my other documents.
I told her my parents didn’t know who I would marry, and so they gave me their name. She didn’t think that was funny…
The clerk told me I needed to show proof of my name change. She told me I would need to get my marriage certificate. I pulled it out of my envelope. She told me I couldn’t use the one from my wedding. I had no idea that piece of paper was a souvenir, but I do now.
I was informed that I would need a marriage certificate from the courthouse with a raised seal. But I was married in Arkansas…I would have to apply for it. This was going to be another $10 dollars.
And then she hit me with even more news — because I have been married twice, and I changed my name both times, I would need to get both marriage certificates. That’s another $10 dollars.
So, if you’re keeping track, I was up to $35 in fees for documents and $27 for the new license for a grand total of $62. Not to mention the gas to the DMV, the time off to wait at the DMV, and the time I spent on the phone with two county courthouses trying to track down documents.
This was time consuming, but I can afford the fees and the time away from work. Not everyone is so lucky.
If the SAVE Act passes, and I am forced to use a REAL ID to vote, I will consider it a poll tax. A $62 dollar poll tax.
I will be forced to pay fees for the right to vote.
Here is the wildest part: I told my husband he might need a REAL ID to vote. He told me he already had a REAL ID and it wasn’t that big of a deal.
Really? He didn’t think that digging up marriage certificates was a big deal? And if he already had the certificate, that would have been handy information, seeing as I had just paid for them.
And then he hit me with the biggest shock…he told me he didn’t have to produce a marriage certificate. That he just used his birth certificate.
Reader, he didn’t take a new name after marriage and was sheltered from the process I had to go through to get my REAL ID.
I felt like my head would explode, and if I can interject for a moment, this is exactly why I will beg my daughters to never change their last name.
Even after all the work I put into my REAL ID, this form of identification might not work in the next election if the SAVE Act is passed. From the Committee on House Administration:
"The SAVE Act’s burdens are extreme—most Americans would be unable to register to vote using their driver’s license or other state-provided identification alone. Millions of Americans, including tens of thousands in each congressional district, would be prevented from registering to vote easily, if at all."
Americans would not be able to register to vote with their driver’s license—REAL IDs do not meet the SAVE Act’s requirements of showing a holder’s citizenship, and noncitizens are legally permitted to have REAL IDs.
There it is in black and white. If passed, the SAVE Act would require a passport to prove citizenship. A document that is $165 and takes weeks to receive. Even if a voter has the time and money to dedicate to getting a passport, delays could keep millions from voting in November.
And that’s the point, isn’t it? The SAVE Act is meant to keep us from voting. It is meant to keep the GOP in power because I know there is no way in hell that they can win in November.
From MS Now:
"Since Trump returned to the White House, Democrats have picked up eight Republican-controlled districts through special elections, as well as 18 seats in New Jersey and Virginia during those states’ regularly scheduled contests last November. Republicans have flipped none."
The SAVE Act was never about election integrity or keeping elections fair. It is about building a paywall around the ballot and hoping we’re too exhausted or too broke to participate.
When half the country doesn’t even have a passport, turning that into the price of admission to democracy is corrupt. It isn’t fair and it isn’t supposed to be. The SAVE Act is meant to keep us home so they can steal an election.
The SAVE Act is the “show me your papers” legislation that is un-American at its core.
~Jess
Please call your Senators and tell them to vote no on any bill or act meant to require burdensome paperwork in order to vote. You can call 202.224.3121 for the U.S. House switchboard operator.
Just read this again. This person says she works (travels for her job.) So, she must have a Social Security card with her name on it. How do you change a name on a Social Security card? Pretty easy. Take your card and your marriage license to the SS office -as I did well over thirty years ago. Social Security already has your birth certificate on file.
This is NOT hard.
You think nothing has changed in thirty years when you were first married. The delusion. Anyway, when I changed my social security card to include my married name, I had to take a copy of both my marriage and birth certificates. I did have to order a copy of my birth certificate from vital statistics office before visiting the social security office. And for some reason, I had to go in person. Maybe you can do that online now, but I am not sure. This requires flexibility in your personal and work life. Some people have more flexibility and extra money for fees than others. I think that was the point of the article, and as usual, entitled women of DCUM have shown the inability to relate to women without the same resources and accessibility.
No. You don't have enough faith in people who are less fortunate than you.
Do you even know any poor people? Guess what. They need ID for lots of things. And, they have birth certificates, too.
Do you know who does not have the documentation? Non-citizens--and they have the documentation for what they need if they are here legally.
I do know poor people. Do you? I went to the DMV 5 times to get a real id. 5 times. Not only did I need a certified copy of my birth certificate, turns out that I needed my first marriage certificate (certified), original social security card, the original divorce decree, my new marriage certificate, my new ss card. It was a NIGHTMARE! Who has time to figure that all out? and the time to take off of work and sit there. I'm a lawyer. I looked up the documentation needed and still found out I needed additional documentation because I was divorced.
I just saw this '“Half of all Americans don’t have passports... 21 million don’t have ready access to their citizenship documents… 69 million married women took their partner’s name…”'
The funny part is that this would hurt red states/republicans the most! Those women are more likely to change their last name and poor people are more likely to not have this documentation accessible.
They also conveniently DOGEd hundreds of people who process passports, even though that agency doesn’t rely on federal money because it’s profitable due to passport fees. Get it yet?
This does not require a passport. If a woman changed her name, all she needs is a birth certificate and a marriage lcertificate--and she may not even need that if she has taken other steps--like most women who change their names have already done with Social Security.
Funny, My mom did not have a birth certificate, but managed to get certification to get Social Security. Same with Dad. Both had home births--as most did in those days. Nowadays, that would not be necessary as just about everyone born here now has a birth certificate. Mom got a passport at age 60 plus with no problem.
THIS IS NOT THAT HARD.
As for difficulty getting a passport due to DOGE--I renewed mine in less than three weeks and no expediting just last month. But, it is not needed unless you want a passport.
A birth certificate with your old name and a marriage license are not sufficient according to the text of the SAVE Act.
Notice how there’s no mention of marriage licenses at all. It clearly states that if you’re using a photo ID + birth certificate, the birth certificate must include your “full name.” If that name doesn’t match your photo ID, there is no provision in the law that says you can use a marriage license to prove you changed your name. In this circumstance, you would need to get a passport or a court order to change the name on your birth certificate. That costs money. This is a poll tax.
This is embarrassing to admit, but I don’t have a passport. I have never needed a passport. I have never traveled outside of the United States. International travel is expensive.
I represent about 50% of the country. About half of Americans do not have a passport. For many of us, it’s not even the lack of international travel that keeps us from owning a passport. It is the cost of the passport itself. A passport is $165 in a time of inflation and high grocery prices and increasing rent and insurance rates. That’s a lot of money for folks barely making it in the first place.
What if I told you that GOP lawmakers would like to make a passport the entry fee for voting?
Pretty insane, yet that is exactly what some GOP lawmakers want to do with an act they are proposing.
It’s called the SAVE Act, and it is diabolical.
I recently updated my driver’s license to a REAL ID. It wasn’t something I did for fun…I fly for work and my old license won’t work at airports anymore. Well, it will work, but there are fees and extra screening. Who wants to do either?
Another reason I wanted the REAL ID is because of the SAVE Act.
If passed, the SAVE Act would require a voter to prove citizenship. Easy, right? No, not that easy. Let’s use my experience as an example of how difficult it is to get a Real ID.
For reference, I am an American citizen who has never traveled out of the country and who has lineage in the states since the 1700s.
I looked up the requirements for a REAL ID. They included my birth certificate, which I had to order. I was born in Louisiana, so I had to complete the process online. I also needed a debit card and $15 for the birth certificate. It arrived about a week later.
I also needed two proofs of residence, like a utility bill, which isn’t easy to get when bills are paid online. I was able to find two bills, though, and I had my Social Security card, so I was set…or so I thought.
I waited about an hour at the local DMV, and was finally called up. I pulled out all of my documents and my license and told the clerk that I was applying for a REAL ID. She looked at my documents and asked why the name on my birth certificate was different from the name on my other documents.
I told her my parents didn’t know who I would marry, and so they gave me their name. She didn’t think that was funny…
The clerk told me I needed to show proof of my name change. She told me I would need to get my marriage certificate. I pulled it out of my envelope. She told me I couldn’t use the one from my wedding. I had no idea that piece of paper was a souvenir, but I do now.
I was informed that I would need a marriage certificate from the courthouse with a raised seal. But I was married in Arkansas…I would have to apply for it. This was going to be another $10 dollars.
And then she hit me with even more news — because I have been married twice, and I changed my name both times, I would need to get both marriage certificates. That’s another $10 dollars.
So, if you’re keeping track, I was up to $35 in fees for documents and $27 for the new license for a grand total of $62. Not to mention the gas to the DMV, the time off to wait at the DMV, and the time I spent on the phone with two county courthouses trying to track down documents.
This was time consuming, but I can afford the fees and the time away from work. Not everyone is so lucky.
If the SAVE Act passes, and I am forced to use a REAL ID to vote, I will consider it a poll tax. A $62 dollar poll tax.
I will be forced to pay fees for the right to vote.
Here is the wildest part: I told my husband he might need a REAL ID to vote. He told me he already had a REAL ID and it wasn’t that big of a deal.
Really? He didn’t think that digging up marriage certificates was a big deal? And if he already had the certificate, that would have been handy information, seeing as I had just paid for them.
And then he hit me with the biggest shock…he told me he didn’t have to produce a marriage certificate. That he just used his birth certificate.
Reader, he didn’t take a new name after marriage and was sheltered from the process I had to go through to get my REAL ID.
I felt like my head would explode, and if I can interject for a moment, this is exactly why I will beg my daughters to never change their last name.
Even after all the work I put into my REAL ID, this form of identification might not work in the next election if the SAVE Act is passed. From the Committee on House Administration:
"The SAVE Act’s burdens are extreme—most Americans would be unable to register to vote using their driver’s license or other state-provided identification alone. Millions of Americans, including tens of thousands in each congressional district, would be prevented from registering to vote easily, if at all."
Americans would not be able to register to vote with their driver’s license—REAL IDs do not meet the SAVE Act’s requirements of showing a holder’s citizenship, and noncitizens are legally permitted to have REAL IDs.
There it is in black and white. If passed, the SAVE Act would require a passport to prove citizenship. A document that is $165 and takes weeks to receive. Even if a voter has the time and money to dedicate to getting a passport, delays could keep millions from voting in November.
And that’s the point, isn’t it? The SAVE Act is meant to keep us from voting. It is meant to keep the GOP in power because I know there is no way in hell that they can win in November.
From MS Now:
"Since Trump returned to the White House, Democrats have picked up eight Republican-controlled districts through special elections, as well as 18 seats in New Jersey and Virginia during those states’ regularly scheduled contests last November. Republicans have flipped none."
The SAVE Act was never about election integrity or keeping elections fair. It is about building a paywall around the ballot and hoping we’re too exhausted or too broke to participate.
When half the country doesn’t even have a passport, turning that into the price of admission to democracy is corrupt. It isn’t fair and it isn’t supposed to be. The SAVE Act is meant to keep us home so they can steal an election.
The SAVE Act is the “show me your papers” legislation that is un-American at its core.
~Jess
Please call your Senators and tell them to vote no on any bill or act meant to require burdensome paperwork in order to vote. You can call 202.224.3121 for the U.S. House switchboard operator.
Just read this again. This person says she works (travels for her job.) So, she must have a Social Security card with her name on it. How do you change a name on a Social Security card? Pretty easy. Take your card and your marriage license to the SS office -as I did well over thirty years ago. Social Security already has your birth certificate on file.
This is NOT hard.
You think nothing has changed in thirty years when you were first married. The delusion. Anyway, when I changed my social security card to include my married name, I had to take a copy of both my marriage and birth certificates. I did have to order a copy of my birth certificate from vital statistics office before visiting the social security office. And for some reason, I had to go in person. Maybe you can do that online now, but I am not sure. This requires flexibility in your personal and work life. Some people have more flexibility and extra money for fees than others. I think that was the point of the article, and as usual, entitled women of DCUM have shown the inability to relate to women without the same resources and accessibility.
No. You don't have enough faith in people who are less fortunate than you.
Do you even know any poor people? Guess what. They need ID for lots of things. And, they have birth certificates, too.
Do you know who does not have the documentation? Non-citizens--and they have the documentation for what they need if they are here legally.
I do know poor people. Do you? I went to the DMV 5 times to get a real id. 5 times. Not only did I need a certified copy of my birth certificate, turns out that I needed my first marriage certificate (certified), original social security card, the original divorce decree, my new marriage certificate, my new ss card. It was a NIGHTMARE! Who has time to figure that all out? and the time to take off of work and sit there. I'm a lawyer. I looked up the documentation needed and still found out I needed additional documentation because I was divorced.
I just saw this '“Half of all Americans don’t have passports... 21 million don’t have ready access to their citizenship documents… 69 million married women took their partner’s name…”'
The funny part is that this would hurt red states/republicans the most! Those women are more likely to change their last name and poor people are more likely to not have this documentation accessible.
They also conveniently DOGEd hundreds of people who process passports, even though that agency doesn’t rely on federal money because it’s profitable due to passport fees. Get it yet?
This does not require a passport. If a woman changed her name, all she needs is a birth certificate and a marriage lcertificate--and she may not even need that if she has taken other steps--like most women who change their names have already done with Social Security.
Funny, My mom did not have a birth certificate, but managed to get certification to get Social Security. Same with Dad. Both had home births--as most did in those days. Nowadays, that would not be necessary as just about everyone born here now has a birth certificate. Mom got a passport at age 60 plus with no problem.
THIS IS NOT THAT HARD.
As for difficulty getting a passport due to DOGE--I renewed mine in less than three weeks and no expediting just last month. But, it is not needed unless you want a passport.
If you think the Trump administration is going to make it easy for people - especially women who have changed their names - to get new officially-sanctioned Trump-approved ID cards, you have not been paying attention. Everything about this bill is designed to purge voter rolls of American citizens who are unlikely to vote for Republicans.
This is embarrassing to admit, but I don’t have a passport. I have never needed a passport. I have never traveled outside of the United States. International travel is expensive.
I represent about 50% of the country. About half of Americans do not have a passport. For many of us, it’s not even the lack of international travel that keeps us from owning a passport. It is the cost of the passport itself. A passport is $165 in a time of inflation and high grocery prices and increasing rent and insurance rates. That’s a lot of money for folks barely making it in the first place.
What if I told you that GOP lawmakers would like to make a passport the entry fee for voting?
Pretty insane, yet that is exactly what some GOP lawmakers want to do with an act they are proposing.
It’s called the SAVE Act, and it is diabolical.
I recently updated my driver’s license to a REAL ID. It wasn’t something I did for fun…I fly for work and my old license won’t work at airports anymore. Well, it will work, but there are fees and extra screening. Who wants to do either?
Another reason I wanted the REAL ID is because of the SAVE Act.
If passed, the SAVE Act would require a voter to prove citizenship. Easy, right? No, not that easy. Let’s use my experience as an example of how difficult it is to get a Real ID.
For reference, I am an American citizen who has never traveled out of the country and who has lineage in the states since the 1700s.
I looked up the requirements for a REAL ID. They included my birth certificate, which I had to order. I was born in Louisiana, so I had to complete the process online. I also needed a debit card and $15 for the birth certificate. It arrived about a week later.
I also needed two proofs of residence, like a utility bill, which isn’t easy to get when bills are paid online. I was able to find two bills, though, and I had my Social Security card, so I was set…or so I thought.
I waited about an hour at the local DMV, and was finally called up. I pulled out all of my documents and my license and told the clerk that I was applying for a REAL ID. She looked at my documents and asked why the name on my birth certificate was different from the name on my other documents.
I told her my parents didn’t know who I would marry, and so they gave me their name. She didn’t think that was funny…
The clerk told me I needed to show proof of my name change. She told me I would need to get my marriage certificate. I pulled it out of my envelope. She told me I couldn’t use the one from my wedding. I had no idea that piece of paper was a souvenir, but I do now.
I was informed that I would need a marriage certificate from the courthouse with a raised seal. But I was married in Arkansas…I would have to apply for it. This was going to be another $10 dollars.
And then she hit me with even more news — because I have been married twice, and I changed my name both times, I would need to get both marriage certificates. That’s another $10 dollars.
So, if you’re keeping track, I was up to $35 in fees for documents and $27 for the new license for a grand total of $62. Not to mention the gas to the DMV, the time off to wait at the DMV, and the time I spent on the phone with two county courthouses trying to track down documents.
This was time consuming, but I can afford the fees and the time away from work. Not everyone is so lucky.
If the SAVE Act passes, and I am forced to use a REAL ID to vote, I will consider it a poll tax. A $62 dollar poll tax.
I will be forced to pay fees for the right to vote.
Here is the wildest part: I told my husband he might need a REAL ID to vote. He told me he already had a REAL ID and it wasn’t that big of a deal.
Really? He didn’t think that digging up marriage certificates was a big deal? And if he already had the certificate, that would have been handy information, seeing as I had just paid for them.
And then he hit me with the biggest shock…he told me he didn’t have to produce a marriage certificate. That he just used his birth certificate.
Reader, he didn’t take a new name after marriage and was sheltered from the process I had to go through to get my REAL ID.
I felt like my head would explode, and if I can interject for a moment, this is exactly why I will beg my daughters to never change their last name.
Even after all the work I put into my REAL ID, this form of identification might not work in the next election if the SAVE Act is passed. From the Committee on House Administration:
"The SAVE Act’s burdens are extreme—most Americans would be unable to register to vote using their driver’s license or other state-provided identification alone. Millions of Americans, including tens of thousands in each congressional district, would be prevented from registering to vote easily, if at all."
Americans would not be able to register to vote with their driver’s license—REAL IDs do not meet the SAVE Act’s requirements of showing a holder’s citizenship, and noncitizens are legally permitted to have REAL IDs.
There it is in black and white. If passed, the SAVE Act would require a passport to prove citizenship. A document that is $165 and takes weeks to receive. Even if a voter has the time and money to dedicate to getting a passport, delays could keep millions from voting in November.
And that’s the point, isn’t it? The SAVE Act is meant to keep us from voting. It is meant to keep the GOP in power because I know there is no way in hell that they can win in November.
From MS Now:
"Since Trump returned to the White House, Democrats have picked up eight Republican-controlled districts through special elections, as well as 18 seats in New Jersey and Virginia during those states’ regularly scheduled contests last November. Republicans have flipped none."
The SAVE Act was never about election integrity or keeping elections fair. It is about building a paywall around the ballot and hoping we’re too exhausted or too broke to participate.
When half the country doesn’t even have a passport, turning that into the price of admission to democracy is corrupt. It isn’t fair and it isn’t supposed to be. The SAVE Act is meant to keep us home so they can steal an election.
The SAVE Act is the “show me your papers” legislation that is un-American at its core.
~Jess
Please call your Senators and tell them to vote no on any bill or act meant to require burdensome paperwork in order to vote. You can call 202.224.3121 for the U.S. House switchboard operator.
Just read this again. This person says she works (travels for her job.) So, she must have a Social Security card with her name on it. How do you change a name on a Social Security card? Pretty easy. Take your card and your marriage license to the SS office -as I did well over thirty years ago. Social Security already has your birth certificate on file.
This is NOT hard.
You think nothing has changed in thirty years when you were first married. The delusion. Anyway, when I changed my social security card to include my married name, I had to take a copy of both my marriage and birth certificates. I did have to order a copy of my birth certificate from vital statistics office before visiting the social security office. And for some reason, I had to go in person. Maybe you can do that online now, but I am not sure. This requires flexibility in your personal and work life. Some people have more flexibility and extra money for fees than others. I think that was the point of the article, and as usual, entitled women of DCUM have shown the inability to relate to women without the same resources and accessibility.
No. You don't have enough faith in people who are less fortunate than you.
Do you even know any poor people? Guess what. They need ID for lots of things. And, they have birth certificates, too.
Do you know who does not have the documentation? Non-citizens--and they have the documentation for what they need if they are here legally.
I do know poor people. Do you? I went to the DMV 5 times to get a real id. 5 times. Not only did I need a certified copy of my birth certificate, turns out that I needed my first marriage certificate (certified), original social security card, the original divorce decree, my new marriage certificate, my new ss card. It was a NIGHTMARE! Who has time to figure that all out? and the time to take off of work and sit there. I'm a lawyer. I looked up the documentation needed and still found out I needed additional documentation because I was divorced.
I just saw this '“Half of all Americans don’t have passports... 21 million don’t have ready access to their citizenship documents… 69 million married women took their partner’s name…”'
The funny part is that this would hurt red states/republicans the most! Those women are more likely to change their last name and poor people are more likely to not have this documentation accessible.
They also conveniently DOGEd hundreds of people who process passports, even though that agency doesn’t rely on federal money because it’s profitable due to passport fees. Get it yet?
This does not require a passport. If a woman changed her name, all she needs is a birth certificate and a marriage lcertificate--and she may not even need that if she has taken other steps--like most women who change their names have already done with Social Security.
Funny, My mom did not have a birth certificate, but managed to get certification to get Social Security. Same with Dad. Both had home births--as most did in those days. Nowadays, that would not be necessary as just about everyone born here now has a birth certificate. Mom got a passport at age 60 plus with no problem.
THIS IS NOT THAT HARD.
As for difficulty getting a passport due to DOGE--I renewed mine in less than three weeks and no expediting just last month. But, it is not needed unless you want a passport.
A birth certificate with your old name and a marriage license are not sufficient according to the text of the SAVE Act.
Notice how there’s no mention of marriage licenses at all. It clearly states that if you’re using a photo ID + birth certificate, the birth certificate must include your “full name.” If that name doesn’t match your photo ID, there is no provision in the law that says you can use a marriage license to prove you changed your name. In this circumstance, you would need to get a passport or a court order to change the name on your birth certificate. That costs money. This is a poll tax.
And for the record, this would affect A LOT of people. Most people without passports will need to provide photo ID + a birth certificate since even if they have a Real ID, it doesn’t indicate citizenship status except in a handful of states.
This is embarrassing to admit, but I don’t have a passport. I have never needed a passport. I have never traveled outside of the United States. International travel is expensive.
I represent about 50% of the country. About half of Americans do not have a passport. For many of us, it’s not even the lack of international travel that keeps us from owning a passport. It is the cost of the passport itself. A passport is $165 in a time of inflation and high grocery prices and increasing rent and insurance rates. That’s a lot of money for folks barely making it in the first place.
What if I told you that GOP lawmakers would like to make a passport the entry fee for voting?
Pretty insane, yet that is exactly what some GOP lawmakers want to do with an act they are proposing.
It’s called the SAVE Act, and it is diabolical.
I recently updated my driver’s license to a REAL ID. It wasn’t something I did for fun…I fly for work and my old license won’t work at airports anymore. Well, it will work, but there are fees and extra screening. Who wants to do either?
Another reason I wanted the REAL ID is because of the SAVE Act.
If passed, the SAVE Act would require a voter to prove citizenship. Easy, right? No, not that easy. Let’s use my experience as an example of how difficult it is to get a Real ID.
For reference, I am an American citizen who has never traveled out of the country and who has lineage in the states since the 1700s.
I looked up the requirements for a REAL ID. They included my birth certificate, which I had to order. I was born in Louisiana, so I had to complete the process online. I also needed a debit card and $15 for the birth certificate. It arrived about a week later.
I also needed two proofs of residence, like a utility bill, which isn’t easy to get when bills are paid online. I was able to find two bills, though, and I had my Social Security card, so I was set…or so I thought.
I waited about an hour at the local DMV, and was finally called up. I pulled out all of my documents and my license and told the clerk that I was applying for a REAL ID. She looked at my documents and asked why the name on my birth certificate was different from the name on my other documents.
I told her my parents didn’t know who I would marry, and so they gave me their name. She didn’t think that was funny…
The clerk told me I needed to show proof of my name change. She told me I would need to get my marriage certificate. I pulled it out of my envelope. She told me I couldn’t use the one from my wedding. I had no idea that piece of paper was a souvenir, but I do now.
I was informed that I would need a marriage certificate from the courthouse with a raised seal. But I was married in Arkansas…I would have to apply for it. This was going to be another $10 dollars.
And then she hit me with even more news — because I have been married twice, and I changed my name both times, I would need to get both marriage certificates. That’s another $10 dollars.
So, if you’re keeping track, I was up to $35 in fees for documents and $27 for the new license for a grand total of $62. Not to mention the gas to the DMV, the time off to wait at the DMV, and the time I spent on the phone with two county courthouses trying to track down documents.
This was time consuming, but I can afford the fees and the time away from work. Not everyone is so lucky.
If the SAVE Act passes, and I am forced to use a REAL ID to vote, I will consider it a poll tax. A $62 dollar poll tax.
I will be forced to pay fees for the right to vote.
Here is the wildest part: I told my husband he might need a REAL ID to vote. He told me he already had a REAL ID and it wasn’t that big of a deal.
Really? He didn’t think that digging up marriage certificates was a big deal? And if he already had the certificate, that would have been handy information, seeing as I had just paid for them.
And then he hit me with the biggest shock…he told me he didn’t have to produce a marriage certificate. That he just used his birth certificate.
Reader, he didn’t take a new name after marriage and was sheltered from the process I had to go through to get my REAL ID.
I felt like my head would explode, and if I can interject for a moment, this is exactly why I will beg my daughters to never change their last name.
Even after all the work I put into my REAL ID, this form of identification might not work in the next election if the SAVE Act is passed. From the Committee on House Administration:
"The SAVE Act’s burdens are extreme—most Americans would be unable to register to vote using their driver’s license or other state-provided identification alone. Millions of Americans, including tens of thousands in each congressional district, would be prevented from registering to vote easily, if at all."
Americans would not be able to register to vote with their driver’s license—REAL IDs do not meet the SAVE Act’s requirements of showing a holder’s citizenship, and noncitizens are legally permitted to have REAL IDs.
There it is in black and white. If passed, the SAVE Act would require a passport to prove citizenship. A document that is $165 and takes weeks to receive. Even if a voter has the time and money to dedicate to getting a passport, delays could keep millions from voting in November.
And that’s the point, isn’t it? The SAVE Act is meant to keep us from voting. It is meant to keep the GOP in power because I know there is no way in hell that they can win in November.
From MS Now:
"Since Trump returned to the White House, Democrats have picked up eight Republican-controlled districts through special elections, as well as 18 seats in New Jersey and Virginia during those states’ regularly scheduled contests last November. Republicans have flipped none."
The SAVE Act was never about election integrity or keeping elections fair. It is about building a paywall around the ballot and hoping we’re too exhausted or too broke to participate.
When half the country doesn’t even have a passport, turning that into the price of admission to democracy is corrupt. It isn’t fair and it isn’t supposed to be. The SAVE Act is meant to keep us home so they can steal an election.
The SAVE Act is the “show me your papers” legislation that is un-American at its core.
~Jess
Please call your Senators and tell them to vote no on any bill or act meant to require burdensome paperwork in order to vote. You can call 202.224.3121 for the U.S. House switchboard operator.
Just read this again. This person says she works (travels for her job.) So, she must have a Social Security card with her name on it. How do you change a name on a Social Security card? Pretty easy. Take your card and your marriage license to the SS office -as I did well over thirty years ago. Social Security already has your birth certificate on file.
This is NOT hard.
You think nothing has changed in thirty years when you were first married. The delusion. Anyway, when I changed my social security card to include my married name, I had to take a copy of both my marriage and birth certificates. I did have to order a copy of my birth certificate from vital statistics office before visiting the social security office. And for some reason, I had to go in person. Maybe you can do that online now, but I am not sure. This requires flexibility in your personal and work life. Some people have more flexibility and extra money for fees than others. I think that was the point of the article, and as usual, entitled women of DCUM have shown the inability to relate to women without the same resources and accessibility.
No. You don't have enough faith in people who are less fortunate than you.
Do you even know any poor people? Guess what. They need ID for lots of things. And, they have birth certificates, too.
Do you know who does not have the documentation? Non-citizens--and they have the documentation for what they need if they are here legally.
I do know poor people. Do you? I went to the DMV 5 times to get a real id. 5 times. Not only did I need a certified copy of my birth certificate, turns out that I needed my first marriage certificate (certified), original social security card, the original divorce decree, my new marriage certificate, my new ss card. It was a NIGHTMARE! Who has time to figure that all out? and the time to take off of work and sit there. I'm a lawyer. I looked up the documentation needed and still found out I needed additional documentation because I was divorced.
I just saw this '“Half of all Americans don’t have passports... 21 million don’t have ready access to their citizenship documents… 69 million married women took their partner’s name…”'
The funny part is that this would hurt red states/republicans the most! Those women are more likely to change their last name and poor people are more likely to not have this documentation accessible.
They also conveniently DOGEd hundreds of people who process passports, even though that agency doesn’t rely on federal money because it’s profitable due to passport fees. Get it yet?
This does not require a passport. If a woman changed her name, all she needs is a birth certificate and a marriage lcertificate--and she may not even need that if she has taken other steps--like most women who change their names have already done with Social Security.
Funny, My mom did not have a birth certificate, but managed to get certification to get Social Security. Same with Dad. Both had home births--as most did in those days. Nowadays, that would not be necessary as just about everyone born here now has a birth certificate. Mom got a passport at age 60 plus with no problem.
THIS IS NOT THAT HARD.
As for difficulty getting a passport due to DOGE--I renewed mine in less than three weeks and no expediting just last month. But, it is not needed unless you want a passport.
A birth certificate with your old name and a marriage license are not sufficient according to the text of the SAVE Act.
Notice how there’s no mention of marriage licenses at all. It clearly states that if you’re using a photo ID + birth certificate, the birth certificate must include your “full name.” If that name doesn’t match your photo ID, there is no provision in the law that says you can use a marriage license to prove you changed your name. In this circumstance, you would need to get a passport or a court order to change the name on your birth certificate. That costs money. This is a poll tax.
And for the record, this would affect A LOT of people. Most people without passports will need to provide photo ID + a birth certificate since even if they have a Real ID, it doesn’t indicate citizenship status except in a handful of states.
And what type of birth certificate- certified?
If thats the case you have two options if born in MD:
Book an appointment all the way in Baltimore. In- person only and then next available appointment as of right now is March 2nd.
Division of Vital Records
6764 B Reisterstown Road
Baltimore, Maryland 21215
2nd option is to order through VitalChek. I ordered both kids certified 2 copies plus the fee and shipping. It was $73. It took 2 weeks.
And thats expedited because we have legitimate taxes and state government here. My brother needed his from NC and it took 8-12 weeks.
This is embarrassing to admit, but I don’t have a passport. I have never needed a passport. I have never traveled outside of the United States. International travel is expensive.
I represent about 50% of the country. About half of Americans do not have a passport. For many of us, it’s not even the lack of international travel that keeps us from owning a passport. It is the cost of the passport itself. A passport is $165 in a time of inflation and high grocery prices and increasing rent and insurance rates. That’s a lot of money for folks barely making it in the first place.
What if I told you that GOP lawmakers would like to make a passport the entry fee for voting?
Pretty insane, yet that is exactly what some GOP lawmakers want to do with an act they are proposing.
It’s called the SAVE Act, and it is diabolical.
I recently updated my driver’s license to a REAL ID. It wasn’t something I did for fun…I fly for work and my old license won’t work at airports anymore. Well, it will work, but there are fees and extra screening. Who wants to do either?
Another reason I wanted the REAL ID is because of the SAVE Act.
If passed, the SAVE Act would require a voter to prove citizenship. Easy, right? No, not that easy. Let’s use my experience as an example of how difficult it is to get a Real ID.
For reference, I am an American citizen who has never traveled out of the country and who has lineage in the states since the 1700s.
I looked up the requirements for a REAL ID. They included my birth certificate, which I had to order. I was born in Louisiana, so I had to complete the process online. I also needed a debit card and $15 for the birth certificate. It arrived about a week later.
I also needed two proofs of residence, like a utility bill, which isn’t easy to get when bills are paid online. I was able to find two bills, though, and I had my Social Security card, so I was set…or so I thought.
I waited about an hour at the local DMV, and was finally called up. I pulled out all of my documents and my license and told the clerk that I was applying for a REAL ID. She looked at my documents and asked why the name on my birth certificate was different from the name on my other documents.
I told her my parents didn’t know who I would marry, and so they gave me their name. She didn’t think that was funny…
The clerk told me I needed to show proof of my name change. She told me I would need to get my marriage certificate. I pulled it out of my envelope. She told me I couldn’t use the one from my wedding. I had no idea that piece of paper was a souvenir, but I do now.
I was informed that I would need a marriage certificate from the courthouse with a raised seal. But I was married in Arkansas…I would have to apply for it. This was going to be another $10 dollars.
And then she hit me with even more news — because I have been married twice, and I changed my name both times, I would need to get both marriage certificates. That’s another $10 dollars.
So, if you’re keeping track, I was up to $35 in fees for documents and $27 for the new license for a grand total of $62. Not to mention the gas to the DMV, the time off to wait at the DMV, and the time I spent on the phone with two county courthouses trying to track down documents.
This was time consuming, but I can afford the fees and the time away from work. Not everyone is so lucky.
If the SAVE Act passes, and I am forced to use a REAL ID to vote, I will consider it a poll tax. A $62 dollar poll tax.
I will be forced to pay fees for the right to vote.
Here is the wildest part: I told my husband he might need a REAL ID to vote. He told me he already had a REAL ID and it wasn’t that big of a deal.
Really? He didn’t think that digging up marriage certificates was a big deal? And if he already had the certificate, that would have been handy information, seeing as I had just paid for them.
And then he hit me with the biggest shock…he told me he didn’t have to produce a marriage certificate. That he just used his birth certificate.
Reader, he didn’t take a new name after marriage and was sheltered from the process I had to go through to get my REAL ID.
I felt like my head would explode, and if I can interject for a moment, this is exactly why I will beg my daughters to never change their last name.
Even after all the work I put into my REAL ID, this form of identification might not work in the next election if the SAVE Act is passed. From the Committee on House Administration:
"The SAVE Act’s burdens are extreme—most Americans would be unable to register to vote using their driver’s license or other state-provided identification alone. Millions of Americans, including tens of thousands in each congressional district, would be prevented from registering to vote easily, if at all."
Americans would not be able to register to vote with their driver’s license—REAL IDs do not meet the SAVE Act’s requirements of showing a holder’s citizenship, and noncitizens are legally permitted to have REAL IDs.
There it is in black and white. If passed, the SAVE Act would require a passport to prove citizenship. A document that is $165 and takes weeks to receive. Even if a voter has the time and money to dedicate to getting a passport, delays could keep millions from voting in November.
And that’s the point, isn’t it? The SAVE Act is meant to keep us from voting. It is meant to keep the GOP in power because I know there is no way in hell that they can win in November.
From MS Now:
"Since Trump returned to the White House, Democrats have picked up eight Republican-controlled districts through special elections, as well as 18 seats in New Jersey and Virginia during those states’ regularly scheduled contests last November. Republicans have flipped none."
The SAVE Act was never about election integrity or keeping elections fair. It is about building a paywall around the ballot and hoping we’re too exhausted or too broke to participate.
When half the country doesn’t even have a passport, turning that into the price of admission to democracy is corrupt. It isn’t fair and it isn’t supposed to be. The SAVE Act is meant to keep us home so they can steal an election.
The SAVE Act is the “show me your papers” legislation that is un-American at its core.
~Jess
Please call your Senators and tell them to vote no on any bill or act meant to require burdensome paperwork in order to vote. You can call 202.224.3121 for the U.S. House switchboard operator.
Just read this again. This person says she works (travels for her job.) So, she must have a Social Security card with her name on it. How do you change a name on a Social Security card? Pretty easy. Take your card and your marriage license to the SS office -as I did well over thirty years ago. Social Security already has your birth certificate on file.
This is NOT hard.
You think nothing has changed in thirty years when you were first married. The delusion. Anyway, when I changed my social security card to include my married name, I had to take a copy of both my marriage and birth certificates. I did have to order a copy of my birth certificate from vital statistics office before visiting the social security office. And for some reason, I had to go in person. Maybe you can do that online now, but I am not sure. This requires flexibility in your personal and work life. Some people have more flexibility and extra money for fees than others. I think that was the point of the article, and as usual, entitled women of DCUM have shown the inability to relate to women without the same resources and accessibility.
No. You don't have enough faith in people who are less fortunate than you.
Do you even know any poor people? Guess what. They need ID for lots of things. And, they have birth certificates, too.
Do you know who does not have the documentation? Non-citizens--and they have the documentation for what they need if they are here legally.
I do know poor people. Do you? I went to the DMV 5 times to get a real id. 5 times. Not only did I need a certified copy of my birth certificate, turns out that I needed my first marriage certificate (certified), original social security card, the original divorce decree, my new marriage certificate, my new ss card. It was a NIGHTMARE! Who has time to figure that all out? and the time to take off of work and sit there. I'm a lawyer. I looked up the documentation needed and still found out I needed additional documentation because I was divorced.
I just saw this '“Half of all Americans don’t have passports... 21 million don’t have ready access to their citizenship documents… 69 million married women took their partner’s name…”'
The funny part is that this would hurt red states/republicans the most! Those women are more likely to change their last name and poor people are more likely to not have this documentation accessible.
They also conveniently DOGEd hundreds of people who process passports, even though that agency doesn’t rely on federal money because it’s profitable due to passport fees. Get it yet?
This does not require a passport. If a woman changed her name, all she needs is a birth certificate and a marriage lcertificate--and she may not even need that if she has taken other steps--like most women who change their names have already done with Social Security.
Funny, My mom did not have a birth certificate, but managed to get certification to get Social Security. Same with Dad. Both had home births--as most did in those days. Nowadays, that would not be necessary as just about everyone born here now has a birth certificate. Mom got a passport at age 60 plus with no problem.
THIS IS NOT THAT HARD.
As for difficulty getting a passport due to DOGE--I renewed mine in less than three weeks and no expediting just last month. But, it is not needed unless you want a passport.
Again, can you point to where the legislation specifies that marriage certificates are suggested or required as a way of verification of the difference between your name on your birth certificate and the name on your passport or real ID?
This is embarrassing to admit, but I don’t have a passport. I have never needed a passport. I have never traveled outside of the United States. International travel is expensive.
I represent about 50% of the country. About half of Americans do not have a passport. For many of us, it’s not even the lack of international travel that keeps us from owning a passport. It is the cost of the passport itself. A passport is $165 in a time of inflation and high grocery prices and increasing rent and insurance rates. That’s a lot of money for folks barely making it in the first place.
What if I told you that GOP lawmakers would like to make a passport the entry fee for voting?
Pretty insane, yet that is exactly what some GOP lawmakers want to do with an act they are proposing.
It’s called the SAVE Act, and it is diabolical.
I recently updated my driver’s license to a REAL ID. It wasn’t something I did for fun…I fly for work and my old license won’t work at airports anymore. Well, it will work, but there are fees and extra screening. Who wants to do either?
Another reason I wanted the REAL ID is because of the SAVE Act.
If passed, the SAVE Act would require a voter to prove citizenship. Easy, right? No, not that easy. Let’s use my experience as an example of how difficult it is to get a Real ID.
For reference, I am an American citizen who has never traveled out of the country and who has lineage in the states since the 1700s.
I looked up the requirements for a REAL ID. They included my birth certificate, which I had to order. I was born in Louisiana, so I had to complete the process online. I also needed a debit card and $15 for the birth certificate. It arrived about a week later.
I also needed two proofs of residence, like a utility bill, which isn’t easy to get when bills are paid online. I was able to find two bills, though, and I had my Social Security card, so I was set…or so I thought.
I waited about an hour at the local DMV, and was finally called up. I pulled out all of my documents and my license and told the clerk that I was applying for a REAL ID. She looked at my documents and asked why the name on my birth certificate was different from the name on my other documents.
I told her my parents didn’t know who I would marry, and so they gave me their name. She didn’t think that was funny…
The clerk told me I needed to show proof of my name change. She told me I would need to get my marriage certificate. I pulled it out of my envelope. She told me I couldn’t use the one from my wedding. I had no idea that piece of paper was a souvenir, but I do now.
I was informed that I would need a marriage certificate from the courthouse with a raised seal. But I was married in Arkansas…I would have to apply for it. This was going to be another $10 dollars.
And then she hit me with even more news — because I have been married twice, and I changed my name both times, I would need to get both marriage certificates. That’s another $10 dollars.
So, if you’re keeping track, I was up to $35 in fees for documents and $27 for the new license for a grand total of $62. Not to mention the gas to the DMV, the time off to wait at the DMV, and the time I spent on the phone with two county courthouses trying to track down documents.
This was time consuming, but I can afford the fees and the time away from work. Not everyone is so lucky.
If the SAVE Act passes, and I am forced to use a REAL ID to vote, I will consider it a poll tax. A $62 dollar poll tax.
I will be forced to pay fees for the right to vote.
Here is the wildest part: I told my husband he might need a REAL ID to vote. He told me he already had a REAL ID and it wasn’t that big of a deal.
Really? He didn’t think that digging up marriage certificates was a big deal? And if he already had the certificate, that would have been handy information, seeing as I had just paid for them.
And then he hit me with the biggest shock…he told me he didn’t have to produce a marriage certificate. That he just used his birth certificate.
Reader, he didn’t take a new name after marriage and was sheltered from the process I had to go through to get my REAL ID.
I felt like my head would explode, and if I can interject for a moment, this is exactly why I will beg my daughters to never change their last name.
Even after all the work I put into my REAL ID, this form of identification might not work in the next election if the SAVE Act is passed. From the Committee on House Administration:
"The SAVE Act’s burdens are extreme—most Americans would be unable to register to vote using their driver’s license or other state-provided identification alone. Millions of Americans, including tens of thousands in each congressional district, would be prevented from registering to vote easily, if at all."
Americans would not be able to register to vote with their driver’s license—REAL IDs do not meet the SAVE Act’s requirements of showing a holder’s citizenship, and noncitizens are legally permitted to have REAL IDs.
There it is in black and white. If passed, the SAVE Act would require a passport to prove citizenship. A document that is $165 and takes weeks to receive. Even if a voter has the time and money to dedicate to getting a passport, delays could keep millions from voting in November.
And that’s the point, isn’t it? The SAVE Act is meant to keep us from voting. It is meant to keep the GOP in power because I know there is no way in hell that they can win in November.
From MS Now:
"Since Trump returned to the White House, Democrats have picked up eight Republican-controlled districts through special elections, as well as 18 seats in New Jersey and Virginia during those states’ regularly scheduled contests last November. Republicans have flipped none."
The SAVE Act was never about election integrity or keeping elections fair. It is about building a paywall around the ballot and hoping we’re too exhausted or too broke to participate.
When half the country doesn’t even have a passport, turning that into the price of admission to democracy is corrupt. It isn’t fair and it isn’t supposed to be. The SAVE Act is meant to keep us home so they can steal an election.
The SAVE Act is the “show me your papers” legislation that is un-American at its core.
~Jess
Please call your Senators and tell them to vote no on any bill or act meant to require burdensome paperwork in order to vote. You can call 202.224.3121 for the U.S. House switchboard operator.
Just read this again. This person says she works (travels for her job.) So, she must have a Social Security card with her name on it. How do you change a name on a Social Security card? Pretty easy. Take your card and your marriage license to the SS office -as I did well over thirty years ago. Social Security already has your birth certificate on file.
This is NOT hard.
You think nothing has changed in thirty years when you were first married. The delusion. Anyway, when I changed my social security card to include my married name, I had to take a copy of both my marriage and birth certificates. I did have to order a copy of my birth certificate from vital statistics office before visiting the social security office. And for some reason, I had to go in person. Maybe you can do that online now, but I am not sure. This requires flexibility in your personal and work life. Some people have more flexibility and extra money for fees than others. I think that was the point of the article, and as usual, entitled women of DCUM have shown the inability to relate to women without the same resources and accessibility.
No. You don't have enough faith in people who are less fortunate than you.
Do you even know any poor people? Guess what. They need ID for lots of things. And, they have birth certificates, too.
Do you know who does not have the documentation? Non-citizens--and they have the documentation for what they need if they are here legally.
I do know poor people. Do you? I went to the DMV 5 times to get a real id. 5 times. Not only did I need a certified copy of my birth certificate, turns out that I needed my first marriage certificate (certified), original social security card, the original divorce decree, my new marriage certificate, my new ss card. It was a NIGHTMARE! Who has time to figure that all out? and the time to take off of work and sit there. I'm a lawyer. I looked up the documentation needed and still found out I needed additional documentation because I was divorced.
I just saw this '“Half of all Americans don’t have passports... 21 million don’t have ready access to their citizenship documents… 69 million married women took their partner’s name…”'
The funny part is that this would hurt red states/republicans the most! Those women are more likely to change their last name and poor people are more likely to not have this documentation accessible.
They also conveniently DOGEd hundreds of people who process passports, even though that agency doesn’t rely on federal money because it’s profitable due to passport fees. Get it yet?
This does not require a passport. If a woman changed her name, all she needs is a birth certificate and a marriage lcertificate--and she may not even need that if she has taken other steps--like most women who change their names have already done with Social Security.
Funny, My mom did not have a birth certificate, but managed to get certification to get Social Security. Same with Dad. Both had home births--as most did in those days. Nowadays, that would not be necessary as just about everyone born here now has a birth certificate. Mom got a passport at age 60 plus with no problem.
THIS IS NOT THAT HARD.
As for difficulty getting a passport due to DOGE--I renewed mine in less than three weeks and no expediting just last month. But, it is not needed unless you want a passport.
Anonymous wrote:Constitutionally the federal government has no role in running elections. That’s explicitly within the purview of the states. We are a republic.
And, this is a federal election we are talking about.
Anonymous wrote:Constitutionally the federal government has no role in running elections. That’s explicitly within the purview of the states. We are a republic.
And, this is a federal election we are talking about.
And the constitution says that’s up to the states.
If you against it, to are in a super small minority of voters. Think why 80% support showing ID??????
Showing identification is definitely different from showing a passport or birth certificate. An id should be a drivers license, school id, or anything accepted by the state. Yall know there are a lot of young people, especially in cities with mass transit, who do not have driver’s licenses. They do have school identification. And poor people have their government benefits identification.
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