Especially out of state certificates from other eras?

“Update: When this article was first published, the SAVE America Act included a provision that would have also required voters to show documents such as a passport or birth certificate at the polls every time they vote. The bill has since been amended in the House to replace that requirement with a directive that states regularly submit their voter rolls to the Department of Homeland Security, as well as a restrictive photo ID requirement for voting“

https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/analysis-opinion/new-save-act-bills-would-still-block-millions-americans-voting

We got copies we needed for a few things when we retired.
Marriage certificate, too.
But, I don't know how common it is for people to be in this position.
I'm guessing it's kind of rare.

I found all of my documents, my birth certificate divorce decree, marriage license and paid the money to get a passport. Mine had expired so I needed a new one.Thankfully we could afford it.

I plan to take a folder full of stuff with me in November. I dare them to keep me from voting after 52 years of voting with no issue. Someone may need to post bail if they try to keep me from voting.

After having it for 45 years, I just let it go.
I retired to quit traveling, so I figure I'll never need it.
But, we've got the BC & MC, so we're covered.
My wife needs a new driver's license.
We'll take all that stuff & probably get her a real ID.

Aside from 5 (IIRC) border states.

one has to show the same documentation as to get a passport.

But the passport costs more so they want everyone to have to pay that poll tax.

It is required to get a passport, except b for a fee individuals who are US Nationals, but not citizens, and that status is printed on the passport

Because non-citizens can get a RealID, and citizenship status is not marked on the document, it proves identity, but not citizenship.

(It requires similar documentation, even more, in some cases, but because they weren't requiring citizenship to get the ID, and it isn't marked on the ID, there is no way to reverse engineer the ID to show citizenship, without requiring the same acquisition process all over again.)

but the same documentation was required for my passport, which I'm glad I have, though I recognize that I have immense privilege in that I had the time and money to deal with it.

Since many people, incorrectly, believe that the RealID proves citizenship.

so, in a very few states (Michigan, Minnesota, Vermont, New York, and Washington) do have citizenship on Real IDs.

The whole thing is an exercise in the usual right wing fuckery, aimed at keeping people from voting, because if fewer people vote, they win.

Proving ID is a minimum - it is border states, where residents go back and forth to Canada where they have chosen to also verify citizenship.

Just rambling a bit.

And if your wife took your name, basically, a passport is the only document that will prove her citizenship

For my passport. The State Department wouldn’t accept the copy of the original that I’d had for ….well…my whole life.

I think it was $22 per copy and it took two weeks.

Born in NYC. None had ever noticed it before. It took him months and lots of time on the phone.

I had to get a new birth certificate when I couldn't find the one I'd had my entire adult life.

Delaware, my birth state, has outsourced their vital statistics office, so I paid the private company more than $100 for the replacement. Also, I had to resubmit the form over 20 times because my signature, which I was writing with my fingernail on my cellphone, did not "match" my signature on my license/state identification card.

It was a hassle, but you have to ask, how many who may vote sporadically and who are now motivated to vote will, when faced with a fee in the neighborhood of $100 and the attendant headaches, will just say, "fuck it...maybe next time"?

mostly it’s been about people (women especially) who move to another state. Letting your voting lapse would have the same effect.

Every time I vote, I have to remember how I wrote 36 years ago when I signed the voter registration card - because my current signature bears no resemblance to that signature. I've been challenged on it a few times - and each time they tell me that I need to re-register with my current signature.

The problem with that is that my current signature is not consistent. I couldn't write it the same way twice if I tried. So for signature matches - I have to use my decades old signature. I'd be in trouble if my driver's license signature was used for the match.

But - under the SAVE act, you'd have to prove your citizenship if you moved across the street, because that would require you to re-register. Anytime you re-register you have to prove your citizenship.

I have two dead husbands.

Didn't find out it wasn't 'a law' until a few years after we married and I would not have taken his name if I had known better. Funny thing is, the surname he has used since about age 9 is NOT his birth name, but step-father's name, and he was never adopted by that man. But I guess nobody will challenge HIS voting rights because white and male.

My dear second husband suggested I not change my surname to his, so late in my life. He laughed and said, it would confuse the government and that was a bad idea so near the time of getting Social Security. Since he worked for a government agency, he had some experience with governmental SNAFUs.

But my daughter, who never liked her surname (first husband who turned into a real ass) actually did go to court to formally change her last name to my second husband's name, as she was of an age and experience to REALLY appreciate the man he was.

The dog goes by my surname and the cat goes by my late second husband's name. Records are weird things.

She only moved to my state as an adult. “How would my friends find me?”, she asked. Later, when she started a high school reunion organization, her biggest problem was locating her married female high school classmates, who were scattered over the country, having only been temporarily together as children of military parents from throughout the U.S.
I suggested to my current wife that she not change her name of her former husband. “Why make issues for yourself with Social Security and identity at this time in your life?”, I said. Later, after reading about the necessity of having a Real ID to possibly vote as a woman whose name doesn’t match her birth certificate and our state deadline to apply for it, she did. Now, she had a problem with her ex’s name . Being a “Saint”, some of her documents show a space between the prefix St. and the rest of the name, while others combine the St with the rest of the name. That raised a red flag, requiring more documentation to settle it.
I think that the underlying purpose of requiring a “real” identification is to create turmoil at the polls so that there’s long lines to discourage voting. Prohibiting mail-in voting just adds more voters to those lines. Then there’s the issue of states purging their voter lists so that to reregister, all those identity requirements come into play. Having the post office now delaying date stamping those allowed mail-in ballots until they reach a designated regional distribution PO would invalidate many of those allowed “last minute” votes. Voter lists show the party identification so it’s also easy to challenge those voters of the party not in power to keep them from voting.
It’s a known fact that in midterm elections the incumbency is at risk of becoming the minority as more disgruntled citizens come out to vote.

I have my birth and marriage certificates in a safe deposit box. I had to show both to get a Real ID driver's license.

as well as my passport, but I only have the former because I had to order a new official copy in order to get the latter, so that I might be able to visit someone close to me that left the country for Europe last summer. Of course with all that is going on, I think that will be a while.

I recently got my certified copy of my birth certificate and a copy of my marriage license in order to get my driver's license renewed and to get an enhanced ID for flying. I always tell young women, "DO NOT CHANGE YOUR NAME WHEN YOU GET MARRIED!"

then you do have an ID that proves citizenship, so you shouldn't need your passport.

Do not change your name!
I have a passport. I also have an “official copy” of my birth certificate which is an awful
Copy and difficult to read. I guess it’s copied from microfiche. I did go through a bit of a mess once moving to New York with a GA drivers license.
Back in the 90s GA would not let you have 4 names on the drivers license. So, they dropped my maiden name without asking me which one to drop. It was a nightmare because it didn’t match my other documents. I finally got it sorted out. But, it was not fun. This is going to be a cluster of epic proportions if this thing passes.

I have Mediterranean skin color.

The federal government cannot manage nor interfere in state voting. Just ask the Supreme Court.

Marriage certificate, DD Form 214, Real ID, MN Fishing license, and even my military vaccination records from the late 60s. They are all where I can get them, and safely in a fire resistant metal box. My wife's stuff is in there, too. I have other records, as well, but not as well protected. I also have scans of everything stored on a USB thumb drive. Other docs like a copy of my house deed, all vehicle ownership papers, insurance policies, and other docs are also stored for fast access.

We shouldn't have to have that stuff. But, I have it anyhow. I've used every one of those things at one point or another in my lifetime.

Last edited Fri Mar 20, 2026, 07:19 AM - Edit history (1)

started a long process to get copies. I promised I wouldn't leave that mess to my kids to sort out. I applied for a replacement birth certificate. Then used the new cert and an expired passport to get a replacement SS card. Then I renewed my passport. Everything was done online and via the mail. I mailed in the forms and documents, they mailed everything back. It took a weeks/months, but all ids now in order. I recommend everyone do the same.

One for the Army, one for Social Security and taxes, and one for his California drivers license.

Same day and month, different years.

He also went by a few different first names -- one for family, one for the Army, and one professionally, using inconsistent birth dates.

His original birth certificate, if he ever had one, was lost.

He joined the Army with an affidavit of birth.

It was very Wild West. You judged a man by his character. ( And the color of his skin, and his accent, and maybe his religion too. His religion was "Not Mormon." )

My dad was executor of my grandfather's estate and had a heck of a time getting that all sorted out.

When I was young I rarely carried any identification with me until I met my wife who considered that an unacceptable habit.

I recently had to get a new birth certificate for myself from some private company when I discovered the official stamped certificate I got to marry my wife was no longer considered acceptable for identification purposes.

This modern world kind of sucks.

All this "papers please" shit will be used to disenfranchise people. Or worse.

If so, contact the Clerk Recorder office in that county. They'll walk you through the process of getting an authorized certified copy of your birth certificate.

My step-father never formally adopted my sister and I, but we used his name for everything, including the SS cards my mom signed us up for.

I have to get a legal name change from my birth name to the name I've used for more than 60 years.

Republicans act like they aren't aware of the fact that computers weren't always around and procedures weren't always quite as formalized as they now are.

When she got married, her marriage certificate had the birth certificate name as the maiden name, even though she had no other identification in that name.

She has since divorced, but somehow that marriage certificate has worked to connect birth cert name to a hyphenated last name (stepfather's-husband's). I've never needed a passport, although I almost needed to travel to Rwanda when my sister was injured there. The embassy guy helping out in the emergency advised that I get a passport in my birth cert name and just ignore all other ID. I suppose I could do that for registering to vote, but it just feels like something would certainly go wrong having a passport in a name that has effectively not existed since 1964, and all other ID in a different name that has existed since 1964.

Finally, my birth name, and all information is in the judgement and this cost me, as you can imagine but I’m glad I did it about 9 years ago. I have the original with my Will and Trust and a copy in my glove box in case I’m ever in need of it on the road. I’m a post war baby and back then, all this legal stuff was not even a thought.

... which is why, until recently, just needing an affidavit has long been sufficient for almost all purposes.

My stepfather was dead and couldn't adopt me as a adult. The license bureau suggested I get a passport. I did with no problem. They use Social Security as verification. I applied for my card for my Social Security card under my stepfather's name. I don't remember if I had to show my birth certificate when I applied - it was 1967.

I've never needed a passport, although I almost needed one to travel to Rwanda when my sister was injured there. The embassy guy helping out in the emergency advised that I get a passport in my birth cert name and just ignore all other ID. He didn't mention anything about SS verification (which would be in my step-father's name). I didn't end up needing to go, so didn't try to get the passport

I think the simplest for me at this point will be getting a court order to change birth name to the one I've always used. Here in WA the process is relatively simple, but the courts have been overwhelmed with people trying to straighten out name mismatches to get Real ID. They only do name changes a couple days a week. You show up with the petition and cash fee and wait around to be heard, which can take all day. You leave with an order, assuming it is granted. I have a little solo dog walking business these days. Of course the days the court does name changes are my busiest days. It is tough to cancel everything so I keep putting it off.

But, I do have to deal with it And soon.

I gathered everything together (certified birth certificate, marriage license, etc) and the pandemic hit and courthouses were closed for a long time. I was a lot less mobile after the pandemic and put it off. My birth state had changed things to get a amended birth certificate and didn't answer the phone much or respond to messages. I kind of gave up and then Trump was elected. I made it priority to get this figured out fast and remembered the license bureau saying a passport was an option because they use different sources of identification. I applied and it took about six weeks. It's not cheap, but it worked. I am also in Washington but my birth state is Montana. I also had present myself to a clerk in the courthouse, but it was nothing.

I had a passport card in my hot little hands before the asshole was inaugurated.

No one ever called me by my given name. As a young adult I decided to just legally change my name to the nickname I had always used, along with a slight change of my middle name so they sounded good together. Thankfully I kept a copy of that order. Then my last named changed twice due to marriage.

I have both social security card and updated passport, thankfully - and all documentation going back to the original birth certificate. It all makes sense. Except that I will have to explain it to some moron in the clerk's office here in Texas, which I'm not looking forward to.

Fifty years ago. Even though it has an embossed seal on it. It looks so different from the modern documents it's still questioned constantly.

with her picture from when she was 19 years old. Needless to say she was stopped upon re-entering the U.S. after a trip to Mexico. An expert had to be brought in to verify her documentation. He told her he hadn't seen one like it in decades. Thankfully, not long after, Mom finally caved - after 54 years in the United States - and decided to become an American citizen.

that's the simplistic bullshit repukes make it out to be, but it's way, way more than "showing ID:"

the greedy old pig party is doing everything they can to suppress voting because they know they'd be crushed in a fair election

"How does anyone function in the U.S. without an ID?" That is not by any means the same as asking "What's the problem with showing an ID?"

So, again, slow your angry roll and stop intimating that anyone should be lumped in with "the greedy old pig party." The world is a messed up enough place without folks going around angry at everyone because of something they think they saw someone say on the internet a while back.

yes INDEED

true patriots are VERY ANGRY INDEED

amirite??

(I've been trying to avoid that lately myself, as a man)

I'd like to keep it that way.

you're either NOT PAYING ATTENTION or you're part of a CULT

I am NOT FOOLED, not at ALL.

yes indeed

I have a passport and a Real ID. But I am fortunate.

I also have a passport card.

Being female, my name now and at birth are different.

Have both birth certificate and passport.

Also my birth name.

teaching certificate. Needed it for license upgrade.
A chore to get it. Cannot imagine dealing with my wife getting all the papers together to vote with name changes.

And I needed to get copies of things I had lost. I've had a passport for 35 years, but my wife didn't get one until I made her last year right after the election.

Also, the SAVE Act is not getting past the Filibuster, and the Repukes aren't going to exempt this bill. They want the Filibuster for the next time they're in the minority. Which, God willing, is very soon.

my birth certificate and marriage license in my lock box at my bank. Some years ago our idiotic governor at the time made everyone prove they lived in this country to renew our driver’s license. So lucky me, I still live in the state I was born in and either paid nothing or minimal fee for a copy with a raised seal. I also have raised seal on marriage certificate. My husband on the hand had to jump through hoops to get his from the state where he was born. I think this was in the early 2000’s. Older people in their 70’s I believe, didn’t have to do anything. He lasted one term, the idiot. His father worked as attorney general for George W. The one who covered statutes with drapes— Ashcroft.

45% Dem / 50% Rep:

https://www.pewresearch.org/politics/2024/04/09/partisanship-by-gender-sexual-orientation-marital-and-parental-status/

AND THAT IS ALL THEY CARE ABOUT RIGHT NOW

while unmarried women are much more likely to vote Democratic---


what they are attempting to pass might hurt their own party vote
MORE than the Democratic vote---

(with the caveat that some married Democratic women voters
might be economically less able to jump through all the hoops
which they are trying to create, for a "problem" which really
does not even EXIST, statistically....
maybe THAT is what they are counting on, but the data seems to weigh against them, IMHO)




In any case, it appears they won't be able to pass the bill,
and I think EVERYONE should be entitled to their vote,
even if they disagree with my opinions.....

I only know this because I started a job a few years ago I brought in the one mom saved, complete with my inky footprints. I was told that this one doesn't count. Its kind of like a souvenir you get for going through labor.

The only birth certificate that COUNTS AS IDENTIFICATION is the official, notarized copy you get from the County Office in the county where you were born. You pay for the certificate, you pay for shipping, and unless you pay for overnight shipping- you wait.

So I have mine. Funny thing is I used the mommy birth certificate until 5 years ago.

If you are internet savvy and can afford to pay for it, its not that big of a deal. But it does require some effort, funds, and time.

Trump was elected the first time I got a certified copy of my birth certificate so I could get a new passport after my old one had been expired for years.
In an odd circumstance for which I'm unable to find any explanation I still know where they are, even after three hurricanes.

My sister still has our Grandmother's baptismal record. It's not common now, but Irish names have a masculine and a feminine form. I can't imagine these days having to try to explain that although Ó Dochartaigh and Ní Dhochartaigh may be spelled differently they are the same surname.

but trump will NEVER accept a birth certificate from obama.

I had to get a consular record of birth to get my passport. That was fun

I think my birth certificate is buried in the garage somewhere, but its useless. I legally changed my first name, (thanks for that clunker, Mom,) years ago. Married twice, changed last name the first time. Now, I use my maiden name, hyphenated with my husband's. Wonder how they'll handle that, since plenty of woman have done the same?

Never had a passport.

This will never pass.

Prior to about 1940, people's ages as reported, which is to say their birth year, varied greatly. They can't all be trying to appear younger. It's likely they never saw a birth certificate in their life. Or it was written in the family bible and only seen a few times. Democracy got along fine on that accuracy. This GOP crap is over the top.

And it was in decent shape considering I’m 70 yrs old. I needed it to get my new license however I was told by the DMV it was invalid because it didn’t have the raised seal on it. Luckily I was only 40 miles from the county I was born in so I didn’t have a problem getting a new one. I needed my marriage license too, to show my name change through marriage however I couldn’t find it and thought I could use my divorce papers to show my name change but was told I had to show my marriage license. A lot of busy work for something I’ve been doing for decades; renewing my license and voting. I’m fortunate I drive and wasn’t too far from where I was born but this is and will be a nightmare for anyone with a name change from their original birth certificate. I would recommend to any woman contemplating marriage not to change their last name.

Ran around back in 2003 to get birth certificates for Hubby and me to get passports, which were renewed in 2023, so we're good. But we are middle-class, like to travel and can afford the expenses of doing that. Many can't. It's another form of poll tax

I have plenty of elderly neighbors that don't even know where they can get their certified BC. This is a trap so that the elderly and the poor can no longer vote.

I had to contact the county recorder where I was born and pay a fee to have the recorder send me an official copy.

If a BC will be required to vote, will a REAL ID be accepted instead since an official BC was required to obtain it? I haven't heard anything about that.

It's in that, but I also have passport.

Its so obvious what they are doing and if congress votes for that, they should all go to prison.

and carry my current passport card as well as my short form birth certificate in my wallet. As my back-up, I also carry a booklet of the U.S. Constitution. I feel prepared.

Because I couldn’t find it and I want them to vote. I believe cost was $25 plus postage. It’s not immediate though. It will be a few weeks. You can use a service to rush but it doubled the total price.

I bought a new copy of my birth certificate many years ago,
can't remember why I thought I needed it, now...

but I'm a male, and thus never changed my name through marriage---

However, even so, having to report to the city to show my documentation
would be a personal hardship to me, since my car is still dead in the driveway---

and if they amended the original bill to outlaw no-reason mail-in balloting
(which as I understand it, they still have not done yet in the Senate),
well, that would invoke further hardship since I have gotten used to mail-in voting
in Michigan--- a law which we passed by a popular vote initiative!---

(AND, I think if they managed to pass it, it should JUSTLY be
struck down by the Supreme Court---

since control over elections is delegated to state governments
by the Constitution, and not to the Federal government---

but we can't count on the Republican nominees to this court
to follow the US Constitution now, can we ???)

If it passes, Churches especially Evangelical, are going to have all kinds of messaging and initiatives to help their married women who changed their last name. Efforts and funding campaigns to assist them with getting copies of their birth certificates, marriage licenses and even passports.

What are the Dems going to do toward the same efforts?

It is easy to renew a passport as long as it is not more than 5 years out of date.

made sure my passport and other top notch identification documents current and locked away in a safe. The world is too unstable to not have the strongest forms of identification ready at will.

I contacted the NC County Register of Deeds office I was borne in. Took about a week to get two raised stamp copies. $24. But everywhere passports here were sold have all shut down. WCU can do it in a special office there and it’s $200. With a three month Wait for office visit, mandated.
This is not a hoop many MAGA’s can or are willing to jump through. Or can afford under trumps low prices of stuff, and rising daily.
FUCK GQP. Had a draft number like most in my generation, no right to vote. I still joined the Navy but no right to vote, and was expected to die for the Country and Nixon. Fuck Trump, steal that right to protect a child raper. My veteran pride for this place is Vanishing. Now they want troops to die again, and take their votes away. To protect the child raper and all his band of thieves.

unless you needed it for Social Security or a Passport many have been stashed away

I also have extra copies of Mr YD and our daughter

I need to renew my passport, but I do have one

The brilliant scientists of the GOPOT really did not think this out.

All anyone who is born in the US gets at birth is a birth certificate. Nowhere on that certificate does it say that you are a citizen. It is a given from the 14th Amendment. We don't get a document from the federal government saying we are a citizen.

The GOPOT putting this codswallop together would like to get rid of the 14th Amendment as well. But if they do that here is what happens:

No passports as a birth certificate does not imply citizenship
No "Real ID" as a birth certificate does not imply citizenship
The only people with proof of citizenship are those immigrants who passed the citizenship test and received a certificate signed by a judge or other officiant at their swearing in ceremony.

Requiring passports, "Real ID" or birth certificates will not allow you to vote as the birth certificate does not imply citizenship without the 14th Amendment which the GOPOT wants to get rid of.

She was worried about me losing it and got yelled at by the woman behind the desk since she jumped over the barricade to reclaim it after the woman was done with it...

And I have had more than one passport over the years, but both have expired so I have no idea where they are now.

Find it in the next week OR get in touch with the county of your birth. Don't wait until summer & election season are here! Get this stuff nailed down ...Trump is only going to get more desperate!

Please start amassing your proof now! I had four last names, a first name I dropped when I was a kid, a middle name I used as my first name, and a version of that name spelled differently on my birth certificate, which had been revised at birth to show a different last name.

Luckily, my mom kept report cards from grade school, and I had announcements and certificates and other papers so I was able to recreate the twisted path that was my life. I sent all that to the SSA and they believed me. Whew.

I have a passport. Requiring one to vote would be outrageous disenfranchisement.

in a folder here.

Four of the five of us have Read ID and Passports.

The fifth is 17, but he's white and male, so he'll probably never be questioned.

I had to provide my birth certificate in order to get it but it expired during Covid and I didn’t renew because ... well, it was during Covid and I wasn’t getting on a plane (still not doing that now because I don’t feel safe in the air with the current clown car admin).

It’s expired but it proves I provided the required documentation to get it. ?????

78 years later we both have our birth certificates.

Don't have any idea how mine survived.

I could retrieve either one in a matter of seconds.

My granddaughters, who Laz and I have guardianship of. It's sitting in a fireproof gun safe, along with a crapload of other important papers, including military medical records, disability paperwork, trust and property documents...

Which reminds me, I remember all the dependent paperwork necessary when dad passed; I'll have to include at least ten copies of our marriage certificate just to get him through should do.ething happen to me.
VA, DEERS, DFAS, Social Security...all sorts of survivor benefits programs need an original notarized form from the courthouse.

My daughters are US citizens, and always have current US (and German) passports nearby. All four of our grandchildren also have dual (USA and German) nationality, so they will be allowed to live, study and work in both the USA and the EU when the time comes. It was easy when our girls were born (mid 1980s), far more difficult now.

It took me all of one day each at the US Embassy in Bonn in 1983 and 1985 for my girls, eleven months of online bureaucracy and consulate appointments for their children (two each), but they both know how important it turned out to be for them, so they fought their way through the bureaucracy. One of our girls lives in New York City, and the other lives in Königstein in the Taunus Hills north of Frankfurt, and they visit frequently, sometimes just for a weekend.

right in the front.

But I don't have a passport, so I may be screwed. Plus, I'm a Democrat--I may be doubly screwed.