96-year-old Tenn. woman can't get voter ID because her birth certificate shows her maiden name

[Adenoid_Hynkel]

Dorothy Cooper, age 96 and a retired domestic worker living in Chattanooga, never had any trouble voting even in the Jim Crow era and missed only one election in her entire adult life. But when she went for one of the state’s new free photo IDs last month so she could keep voting, they turned her away. Why? Her maiden name, Dorothy Alexander, is on her birth certificate, and she didn’t have her marriage license.

Due to Tennessee’s new voting law, she has to have a state photo ID to vote and now, even with her current voter registration card, she can’t get one.

http://theriverwanders.tumblr.com/post/29619618623/inothernews-blackamazon-blackamazon

[rocktivity]

1. Can't she get a copy of her marriage license?

It must be on record somewhere?


rocktivity

[csziggy]

4. Not if it was a common law marriage

Which were very common in the South until the 60s or 70s.

I was researching the genealogy of one African American woman who was embarrassed that her parents and grandparents were not legally married. According to the census, they were paying maybe $3 a month for rent. A marriage license cost $5 in that county at that time. Her ancestors were married in their churches but legally they were common law married because they could not afford to pay the license fees.

Often the small churches did not keep records or if they did, they have not been preserved, so they may not even be that kind of record to corroborate a marriage. And far too many people were illiterate so there would be no record in a family Bible, either.

[flamingdem]

17. All these things are beaurocratic hassles and costly

Plus, if they could take weeks if you don't expediate with Fedex.

So, $50 -? Not everyone can do it.

[WI_DEM]

2. this is the new Jim Crow laws--keeping people who might look as if they will

vote democratic off the rolls. Now this poor woman needs to try and get a copy of her marriage license!?

[Adenoid_Hynkel]

3. The GOP, the party of smaller government...

...sure likes to put the elderly through endless red tape.

[onehandle]

5. Has she tried not being black? nt

[enough]

6. These goddamned laws work as intended. (nt)

[bigdarryl]

7. And yet I hear on rightwing radio idiots agreeing with these laws

mostly white people I hate to say.

[earthside]

8. Dorothy Cooper got her ID and voted.

This is an old story -- October of last year.

It still shows the effect of voter suppression and the lengths to which the Repuglicans will go to steal elections.

Dorothy Cooper is voting ... good on her.
But no U.S. citizen should have to endure what she went through to exercise their right to vote.

Dorothy Cooper, woman in photo ID snag, finally gets to vote - March 7, 2012 - Chattanooga Times Free Press

A woman who was born before women's suffrage in 1920 and weathered the civil rights movement in the '50s and '60s cast her ballot Tuesday, just as she's been doing since the '40s.

Only this time, 96-year-old Dorothy Cooper had to bring something she's never been required to have before -- a photo ID.

She walked into her local voting precinct a little after noon and presented the photo ID she once was denied by the state in October. She was given the free ID only after making two trips to a state Driver Services Center.

[SunSeeker]

12. Thanks for the update. nt

[KeepItReal]

9. Even David Duke ain't as diabolical as these vote-suppressing GOP MF-ers

He probably never thought he could get away with bringing back poll taxes.

*Todays* GOP is so power hungry they'd even disenfranchise White people (poor and elderly with no ID and college students) just to make sure even more minorities can't vote.

[mim89]

10. Daily Show last night

The Daily Show had a great segment on how ridiculous this is, especially Ohio.


Its definitely time for an independent commission to handle elections.

[peace13]

11. This is more common than you think!

Two years ago my 55 year old sister, who has contracted a deadly, debilitating disease, moved back to Ohio so that I could take care of her. We went to the DMV to get an Ohio State ID card, not a drivers license so that she coould vote and travel if need be. Her maiden name was still in the system from when she was 17 and had lived in Ohio. A new state law said that she had to prove how her name changed. We had her birth certificate, a drivers license from Idaho that was still current and proof of address as an Ohio resident, all of the requirements posted on the board.

What they needed was a marriage license and divorce papers so that they could see how her name changed. She has been married three times so we would need three marriage licenses and three divorce papers to get back to her maiden name. We had her current divorce papers form the husband who refused to help take care of her but no marriage license in our file.

This was a fiasco. The women behind the desk at the DMV asked her why, if she was divorced didn't she get rid of the old name. It was insulting and frustrating. I tried to get them to call the Idaho DMV and clear the mess up with one phone call but they said that they couldn't do that.

Women, this is what it has come to. If you choose to change your name...remember to keep all papers together for a lifetime because you never know when you will have to prove who you are.

[LittleGirl]

14. My husband became a citizen in June

and we had to produce all of our marriage licenses, divorce decrees, and have a police record from every city he lived in (and country) since he was 16. He's 44. This is small gov't at work. /snark.

[peace13]

18. I hear that.

My friends mother, who was Canadian and had lived in this country for almost 60 years on a green card had to do the same thing. She was 86 and had to contact all places of residence. Her husband had worked for the FAA and they had been all over. What I sad thing to put her through. She was a very proud Canadian. Obstinate too, so we worked through it!

I am so glad that your husband got it all worked out. Congratulations to both of you!

[LittleGirl]

21. Thanks! eom

[sammytko]

15. I have all of mine, but have decided to never ever change my birth name again!

It is a hassle, but it has to be done. Best if it is stated in your divorce decree that you will be going back to your maiden name.

And then update all your info - SS card, etc.

[peace13]

16. Looking back...probably best to never change it!

That's my take. I don't think it needs to be a law to have to change back as women with children may feel like they want the same name as their kids for whatever reason.

It would be best if the immoral, thieving politicians would keep their hands off of voter rights but of course we can see that that is not going to be possible.

[davidpdx]

22. I agree and in the 21st Century I think a lot of men don't have a problem with it

More so if the woman is a professional and received degrees, licenses, etc under her maiden name. In Korea, as strange as it might sound the woman doesn't take the husband's name. Here's the twist though, until recently the kids took the father's name. That's starting to change though.

My mother was divorced when I was about 7 and never changed her name back. She got remarried (and divorced again!) and never changed her name back. At least she was consistent.

[susanna]

23. Just wow. So sorry for your sis (and you trying to help her).

As for me, I married later in life and kept my maiden name, pretty much because of my job - I talked with thousands of people internationally (I was the go-to person for a huge computer system at a large corporation). It was just too much of a hassle to change it and risk problems for my customers at work.

After reading all of this, now I have an even better reason to keep it. I had been toying with changing it to my husband's name, since I am no longer with my original employer, but I don't think I will now.

IMHO, this is an utter disgrace.

[Rosa Luxemburg]

13. That is ridiculous - we need a few protesters down there

[think]

19. Tennessee politicians that passed this should be ashamed of themselves.

How much more unAmerican can these people be?

[CTyankee]

20. Several years ago I had a similar problem. While traveling in northern Italy, my travel wallet

containing my passport and my drivers license was stolen. I got an emergency passport at the American Consulate in Milan but when I got home I had to deal with the passport issue without my other picture ID, my drivers license, and it was a HASSLE!

Fortunately, my wallet had been found and turned over to the Consulate and they sent me back my drivers license and my passport which they had punched holes in. I had to fill out all the paperwork for the new passport at the main post office and the whole process in the mail took about two weeks. Also fortunately, I had my birth certificate because I had to get a true facsimile of it when I had applied for Social Security. Otherwise, I would have been pretty frantic. I had my previous passport from YEARS before but it was under my former married name.

I don't know how much it is now but then it was $100 cash to get the Emergency Passport from the Consulate and you'd better have it!