The letter below was shared with me by a friend. Although we may think that voter suppression does not affect us in education, directly, think about what all the so called "reform" governors are doing to teachers and children by testing and firing and reducing budgets. Think about how the agencies supported by the governors and legislators are affecting how we teach, what we teach, and even that we teach. Voting for the people who ultimately make the decision is important, even for the presidency.
A Difficult Journey: Getting a Required Photo ID
It took a major, cooperative effort of legislators, law enforcement officers and Department of Motor Vehicles officials to score a major accomplishment this week. No, it didn’t have anything to do with crimes or laws. I was just trying to help my 86-year-old father get a Virginia-issued photo ID so he can vote.
Dad reluctantly retired from teaching sociology at the University of South Carolina two years ago. In his words, “We middle-aged people don’t get around as well as we used to. So he moved to Chesapeake to be closer to his grandchildren. When Dad got here, it was just as important to him to register to vote, as it was in 1947, when he was a 21-year-old veteran in Alabama.
So, he got settled into a retirement community, with his social security card, his SC driver’s license. He got his voter registration with no problem. Then came the 2012 Virginia law -- no photo ID-- no vote. No problem, he said. “Just take me up to DMV so I can get one." How hard could it be?
You see, Dad has never had a birth certificate. In 1926, the mid-wife who delivered him never filed one. My father is not alone. Millions of Americans don’t have valid photo IDs, especially seniors. People over 65 are more likely to lack birth certificates because they were born before recording births was standard procedure. According to a Brennan Center study, one in five citizens over 65, about 8 million, lacks a current, government-issued ID that many states offer non-driving residents. My dad actually had a valid driver’s license, but since it was from another state, he still had trouble.
Dad also brought his cherished army discharge papers, hailing the honors he earned serving our country during World War 2. That usually works. Gets respect. Not this time.
Post 9-11. The Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles said he had to have an original birth certificate or passport. Well, Dad had a passport, somewhere. He has traveled all over the world. But after moving to Virginia, it was buried in boxes God knows where. So we went online and applied for a copy of it from the State Department. $55 and a few weeks later, Dad received it in the mail with an official seal, a signature from Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and a color copy of Dad’s most recent passport. Now we thought he had everything he needed. Wrong again. Apparently it still didn’t prove his U.S. citizenship to the Virginia DMV.
Fortunately I know the manager of my local DMV, my local delegate, his Legislative Aide and the Special Agent in Charge of Law Enforcement Services for the DMV. With all of their support and help, we finally got Dad a state-issued photo ID, about two months later!
I appreciate the efforts to protect homeland security. However, at some point, shouldn’t common sense prevail? The scary part to me is, what happens to all the other tax-paying American citizens who don’t drive, or have access to transportation, or the internet or time off work? Would they know who to call? Will they have a voice?
Bonita Billingsley Harris,
Daughter, Wife, Mother, Proud American in Chesapeake, VA
