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In reply to the discussion: My wife and I just renewed our expired passports. [View all]MineralMan
(146,308 posts)32. Kind of like the star on your screen name here on DU, I guess.
The really bad thing about Real ID driver's licenses is the documentation you have to provide to get them the first time. In states with Voter ID laws, that is being used to suppress the votes of people who have trouble with documentation. I know people who have no idea what county they were born in, so getting a birth certificate is a real challenge, especially if they don't have a computer to look that information up and request a copy.
There are still many people in this country who actually never had a birth certificate. Most are old now, but it's an issue. In other cases, people have lost those documents and have no idea how to get replacements for BCs, naturalization papers and other required documents. In some states, getting a certified copy of a birth certificate is a trial of its own, as well. There are places where all birth records have even disappeared or have been lost. It's a mess.
That is one of the enormous flaws in Voter ID, and is one of the reasons so many states that want to suppress the votes of poor people, uneducated people, immigrants who are naturalized, etc. They believe that such people would vote for Democrats, so they try to keep them from voting.
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Just to share: I renewed a few years ago (at this age, the years all blend together,
fierywoman
Sep 2017
#12
What the heck, you might as well go on a trip abroad now to make it worth your while!
Tanuki
Sep 2017
#4
If you travel out of the country at all, Global Entry is AWESOME. It's not just the pre-check that
Neema
Sep 2017
#28
Are you flying out of the country or driving to Canada? You can get a passport card...
George II
Sep 2017
#22
I renewed mine last November just because I always like to have a valid passport in case
beaglelover
Sep 2017
#34
I was dreading renewing my passport back in May but was pleasantly surprised
Snake Plissken
Sep 2017
#39
If I knew that I wouldn't have waited until the last minute to get my passport renewed
Snake Plissken
Sep 2017
#42