Think it's "no big deal" to get a photo I.D.?

Like many, I thought at first that it's not a big deal to have to show photo ID to vote since we're required to show it for a lot of things; but then I started hearing more about the difficulties in obtaining one for the poor, the urban population, and especially the elderly.  Now that I think about it, I can't remember one time I needed my birth certificate for anything since I got married 37 years ago, except for when I applied for a passport.  I'm sure there are TONS of people in the above-mentioned populations that have never had a passport, though.  

My parents grew up in a big city where they didn't need to drive because of public transportation...in fact, my mom didn't learn to drive until she was 40, so I can understand that many urban dwellers don't have driver's licenses.  

One last thing....my driver's license office has huge wait times.  I waited 1-1/2 hours to get a simple license renewal a couple weeks ago.  If you're starting from scratch, the people in that line had closer to 2-1/2 hours' wait; and these times are much improved from when they had computer glitches earlier in the summer, when some people waited 5-6 hours and had to return the next day when they ran out of time!!  Sounds insane, but it's absolutely true.  I have no doubt that going to get that government-issued photo ID could be very intimidating for a frail, elderly person.  I copied the following from an NPR article about the subject.  Sorry it's long, but the stories are interesting.  Do YOU think these women shouldn't be allowed to vote?    

Here are three longtime voters and their stories in trying to comply with new voter ID laws.

Thelma Mitchell, Nashville, Tenn.

When Thelma Mitchell, a retired state employee, learned that her old employee ID (which was issued by the state and included her photo) wouldn't meet Tennessee's new voter ID law, she went to a motor vehicle office to obtain a valid photo ID. The agency asked her for a birth certificate, but she didn't have one and was denied her request for a new ID.

Mitchell, 93, has never had a birth certificate. She wasn't born in a hospital and was delivered by a midwife, in Alabama in 1918. Birth certificates, particularly for African-Americans in the South, weren't regularly generated at the time. As a result, Mitchell may not be able to vote this year for the first time in decades.

"I got so mad" about being turned away, Mitchell said in an interview. "I was holding my peace to keep from telling him off. So I didn't get to vote."

Another obstacle for Tennessee seniors: The state doesn't put photos on the licenses of drivers over age 65. This practice affects some 30,000 people, according to voting rights advocates in the state.

Florence Hessing, Bayfield, Wis.

At age 96, Florence Hessing is disabled, rarely leaves her home and votes by absentee ballot. She has a driver's license that expired a few years ago. She wrote to the state asking the requirements for obtaining a new photo ID under the state's recently enacted voter ID law. The response she received outlined the requirements and included a $28 fee — which angered Hessing because she expected the ID to be free.

Hessing first had to come up with a birth certificate. She wrote to Iowa, where she was born, but the state had no official record.

"I think that's a shift if I can't vote," Hessing said in an interview. "It'd feel like I was thrown out."

Ruthelle Frank, Brokaw, Wis.

Like Hessing and Mitchell, Frank, 84, was denied in her application for a new voter ID because she lacked a birth certificate. She was born in Wisconsin, has lived in the same home for 83 years and never had need of the document.

"After I was married, we made several trips into Canada. I used my baptismal certificate to cross all the time," Frank said. "That's all I ever needed."

She called her county's registrar of deeds, to no avail. The state's vital records office managed to find her birth certificate, but there were other problems — both her parents' names were misspelled, rendering the document invalid.

"In order to get it corrected, I'd have to amend it. And it would cost $200," Frank said. "I decided I didn't want to spend $200 for the right to vote because I've always thought the right to vote was free. I don't think it's fair."