Editor,

When Real ID first came to be, I learned that as woman who had changed her name upon marriage, I needed a certified copy of my birth certificate AND a certified copy of my marriage license to obtain a Real ID. The original marriage license I had was considered a souvenir. Had I simply kept my maiden name, only the certified birth certificate would be required. I finally got around to ordering a certified copy of my marriage certificate so that I could obtain a Real ID. My hope is that same documentation will be sufficient should I need to reregister to vote under the SAVE Act. I feel both laws are discriminatory against married women. Thank you.

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(2) comments

MichKosk

There is no law that anyone, male or female, is required to change their name when they marry. I did not do so. However I assume that if one does change their name they have to provide a marriage certificate to change their name on various documents. I can pull mine out of a file drawer in my house if needed. This is hardly onerous.

Terence Y

The takeaway, Ms. Levinson, from your letter is that you had no real issues in getting a Real ID. So others can easily do the same. As such, you won’t have any issues registering/reregistering to vote under the SAVE Act. BTW, how is the law discriminatory? Don’t some married men take their spouse’s last name, too? Or hyphenate? Thank you.

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