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.
My mom who never learned to drive and who took me and my siblings on public transportation or had us walk with her to vote for everything from the local school board to the president would no longer be able to vote due to lack of proper documentation if this passes. That's sad.
Anonymous wrote:To clarify-
They want to see proof of citizenship (passport or maybe certified birth certificate) to register to vote.
They want to see photo ID to cast a vote.
And the efforts to reduce mailed ballots are not in the bill?
It’s more than that. If you don’t have a passport, registering to vote will require a birth certificate AND government ID for most people. If the name on your driver’s license doesn’t match your birth certificate (like if you got married), you’re SOL unless you pay to get a passport.
Absolutely not true. How did you think women change the name on the drivers' license? You think all women who change their names did it just by saying, "please change my name?"
IT IS NOT THAT HARD!
Learn to read. Jesus. The requirements for changing the name on your license are DIFFERENT from what’s in the SAVE Act. That is the ENTIRE REASON THIS IS A PROBLEM.
Anonymous wrote:To clarify-
They want to see proof of citizenship (passport or maybe certified birth certificate) to register to vote.
They want to see photo ID to cast a vote.
And the efforts to reduce mailed ballots are not in the bill?
It’s more than that. If you don’t have a passport, registering to vote will require a birth certificate AND government ID for most people. If the name on your driver’s license doesn’t match your birth certificate (like if you got married), you’re SOL unless you pay to get a passport.
Absolutely not true. How did you think women change the name on the drivers' license? You think all women who change their names did it just by saying, "please change my name?"
IT IS NOT THAT HARD!
To change the name on my DL, I simply showed a copy of marriage certificate. Nothing else. I obtained my DL twenty years before I married. The last time I had to show a birth certificate was when my mom handed it to me so I could get my first DL. I’m sixty and would have to order a copy of DL.
Exactly--it's not that hard.
Which part of the SAVE Act says you can show a marriage license if the name on your birth certificate doesn’t match your ID? Here is the text. SHOW US.
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.
My mom who never learned to drive and who took me and my siblings on public transportation or had us walk with her to vote for everything from the local school board to the president would no longer be able to vote due to lack of proper documentation if this passes. That's sad.
You won’t help your elderly mother?
What if PP’s mother had no children to help? Oh well! No more voting for her!
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.
It might not be that hard...for you. But you are showing your privilege. Voting is a right enumerated in the US constitution. Adding hurdles or fees to be able to vote is both morally wrong, and illegal. If the government wants to provide every American with a voting ID for free, then go for it (GOP opposes this every time). But otherwise, this is voter suppression.
Now do guns
Charging money for guns isn’t specifically prohibited in an amendment to the constitution.
Anonymous wrote:To clarify-
They want to see proof of citizenship (passport or maybe certified birth certificate) to register to vote.
They want to see photo ID to cast a vote.
And the efforts to reduce mailed ballots are not in the bill?
It’s more than that. If you don’t have a passport, registering to vote will require a birth certificate AND government ID for most people. If the name on your driver’s license doesn’t match your birth certificate (like if you got married), you’re SOL unless you pay to get a passport.
Absolutely not true. How did you think women change the name on the drivers' license? You think all women who change their names did it just by saying, "please change my name?"
IT IS NOT THAT HARD!
To change the name on my DL, I simply showed a copy of marriage certificate. Nothing else. I obtained my DL twenty years before I married. The last time I had to show a birth certificate was when my mom handed it to me so I could get my first DL. I’m sixty and would have to order a copy of DL.
Exactly--it's not that hard.
Which part of the SAVE Act says you can show a marriage license if the name on your birth certificate doesn’t match your ID? Here is the text. SHOW US.
Here you go!
(1) A form of identification issued consistent with the requirements of the REAL ID Act of 2005 that indicates the applicant is a citizen of the United States.
And, though you did not ask, here is Virginia's requirement for Real ID:
One proof of identity.
Two proofs of Virginia residency.
One proof of legal presence.
Proof of your Social Security number (SSN), if you have been issued one. If you know your SSN, DMV can verify it electronically.
Proof of name change, if your name appears differently on your proof documents.
$10 fee, plus the cost of the driver’s license or ID card you’re applying for. See fee chart.
Note: For example, a standard driver's license renewal costs $32, while a standard driver's license replacement costs $20.
See acceptable documents guide.
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.
My mom who never learned to drive and who took me and my siblings on public transportation or had us walk with her to vote for everything from the local school board to the president would no longer be able to vote due to lack of proper documentation if this passes. That's sad.
You won’t help your elderly mother?
What if PP’s mother had no children to help? Oh well! No more voting for her!
no SNAP
Yes. So many women who have no Social Security number, no health insurance, no Medicare, no Medicaid, no job, no income, no birth, no credit card, no bank account. Nothing to show 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.
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.
My mom who never learned to drive and who took me and my siblings on public transportation or had us walk with her to vote for everything from the local school board to the president would no longer be able to vote due to lack of proper documentation if this passes. That's sad.
You won’t help your elderly mother?
What if PP’s mother had no children to help? Oh well! No more voting for her!
So elderly women are too dumb to figure out how to vote?
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.
My mom who never learned to drive and who took me and my siblings on public transportation or had us walk with her to vote for everything from the local school board to the president would no longer be able to vote due to lack of proper documentation if this passes. That's sad.
You won’t help your elderly mother?
What if PP’s mother had no children to help? Oh well! No more voting for her!
no SNAP
Yes. So many women who have no Social Security number, no health insurance, no Medicare, no Medicaid, no job, no income, no birth, no credit card, no bank account. Nothing to show ID.
How many women have none of these things? How do they live and exist with none of these things? Where have you met these women?
Anonymous wrote:To clarify-
They want to see proof of citizenship (passport or maybe certified birth certificate) to register to vote.
They want to see photo ID to cast a vote.
And the efforts to reduce mailed ballots are not in the bill?
It’s more than that. If you don’t have a passport, registering to vote will require a birth certificate AND government ID for most people. If the name on your driver’s license doesn’t match your birth certificate (like if you got married), you’re SOL unless you pay to get a passport.
Absolutely not true. How did you think women change the name on the drivers' license? You think all women who change their names did it just by saying, "please change my name?"
IT IS NOT THAT HARD!
To change the name on my DL, I simply showed a copy of marriage certificate. Nothing else. I obtained my DL twenty years before I married. The last time I had to show a birth certificate was when my mom handed it to me so I could get my first DL. I’m sixty and would have to order a copy of DL.
Exactly--it's not that hard.
Which part of the SAVE Act says you can show a marriage license if the name on your birth certificate doesn’t match your ID? Here is the text. SHOW US.
Here you go!
(1) A form of identification issued consistent with the requirements of the REAL ID Act of 2005 that indicates the applicant is a citizen of the United States.
And, though you did not ask, here is Virginia's requirement for Real ID:
One proof of identity.
Two proofs of Virginia residency.
One proof of legal presence.
Proof of your Social Security number (SSN), if you have been issued one. If you know your SSN, DMV can verify it electronically.
Proof of name change, if your name appears differently on your proof documents.
$10 fee, plus the cost of the driver’s license or ID card you’re applying for. See fee chart.
Note: For example, a standard driver's license renewal costs $32, while a standard driver's license replacement costs $20.
See acceptable documents guide.
PP didn’t ask because she asked what is proof scribed in the legislation, and Virginia requirements for real ID (which does not prove citizenship in Virginia and 44 other states) are not in the legislation.
One issue that is never addressed is how will people prove citizenship if MAGA has its way and eliminates birthright citizenship? At that point, a birth certificate won’t suffice. At least for people born after what the effective date is.
The second issue, with respect to name inconsistency, is that the SAVE Act doesn’t address that situation. Rather, the bill’s congressional advocates say they “expect” that regulations will be issued that will clarify that a marriage certificate is sufficient. But as the Act is currently written, name inconsistency is not addressed. Which makes one wonder how MAGA can advocate for regulations when Congress could easily speak to this.
There other problems related to the law’s drafting, but these two should make it DOA.
Anonymous wrote:People are talking about it. It's a draconian law to solve a rare problem, that will potentially hurt married women when they try to vote. But sadly, it's not the worst thing Republicans are doing to women under this administration.
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/04/10/us/politics/house-citizenship-elections.html
Democrats opposing the bill framed it as an unnecessary effort to address a rare practice that is already illegal. And they warned that the legislation would have substantial unintended consequences, making it more difficult for large swaths of Americans — including women who change their name upon marriage — to vote.
“Republicans would force Americans into a paperwork nightmare, burying voter registration under a mountain of bureaucracy and red tape,” Representative Joseph D. Morelle of New York said.
Much of their argument focused on married women whose birth certificates have names that do not match their current legal names. Democrats argued that they would find it difficult to produce the documentation required by the bill, thus disenfranchising them.
“Are you a woman who changed your name when you got married?” Hillary Rodham Clinton, the former secretary of state and Democratic presidential nominee, wrote in a message on social media. “Congress is considering a bill that could make it much harder for you to vote.” Her post urged women to call their congressional representatives to oppose the bill, and after the measure passed, she added another message encouraging them to “make sure your senators know you expect them to stand against it.”
Mr. Morelle responded to every Republican who spoke in favor of the measure by citing the number of women in their district who might be affected by it and the number of residents without passports who might find themselves unable to register to vote.
I don’t think Republicans consider it a problem for women to not be allowed to vote.
They should- lots of married conservative women vote for them. I think a majority white women voted for Trump, right?
But if they get their wish of just white men voting, they win in a landslide! White women always side with white patriarchy thinking they will benefit, even though history shows, it always turns on them as well.
No, we don't. This is prejudiced nonsense. Stop it.
Europe: The vast majority of European countries (including Germany, France, and Italy) require standard government-issued photo IDs at the polls.
Latin America: Countries like Mexico and Brazil have mandatory voter ID requirements, often using dedicated "voter credentials" that also serve as primary personal identification.
Africa: Many countries require ID but may accept broader forms, such as affidavits from tribal elders in Liberia or Malawi, to ensure inclusivity.
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.
My mom who never learned to drive and who took me and my siblings on public transportation or had us walk with her to vote for everything from the local school board to the president would no longer be able to vote due to lack of proper documentation if this passes. That's sad.
You won’t help your elderly mother?
What if PP’s mother had no children to help? Oh well! No more voting for her!
no SNAP
Yes. So many women who have no Social Security number, no health insurance, no Medicare, no Medicaid, no job, no income, no birth, no credit card, no bank account. Nothing to show ID.
How many women have none of these things? How do they live and exist with none of these things? Where have you met these women?
I haven't. I was being facetious. But, apparently, opponents of the SAVE act seem to think theere are many of them.
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