Current Events — HabitableZone

Current Events » in reply to Proposition 200

Me and my birth certificate
Mary Anne — (archived)

Thank God I got my driver's license 30 years ago!

I was born in the State of New York. I have a birth certificate, the one issued to my parents. It's hand-written in fountain pen on an official state form and has no seal. Under current rules, it would not be admissable. I would have to send to Albany for a new one, which would cost me $45.00. (Curiously, I can fax in my request for a certified birth certificate, along with a photocopy of my PA driver's license. I don't have to be physically present, and my photo ID only has to be the same quality as a fax of a photocopy.) It takes 4-6 weeks to get the birth certificate.

So, suppose I'm a non-driving older lady living alone on a fixed income in a state that's not my birth state, and now, having voted all my life, I need a photo ID. My birth certificate isn't good enough to get a photo ID, so I have to pay $45.00 to get one that is good enough, and after I figure out how to do that, I have to get myself over to the DMV with another check, for $20.00, so I can get my photo ID. Do you see any barriers here?

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