10/16/2015

Democrats argue that requiring a birth certificate (or similar document) is an undue burden on people's ability to vote. Will they soon make that challenge for little league sports?

Here is what you need a birth certificate for the following:
  • Obtaining a Driver’s License . . .
  • Marriage . . .
  • Signing Up for Sports – Especially in youth sports, there is often an age requirement. This protects children from accidental injury by older kids. Since it is required, you may have to provide a proof of age, usually in the form of a certified birth certificate.
  • Travel – A birth certificate is one of the requirements for obtaining a passport, of course. However, it is often used in other circumstances too. Many cruise lines require that passengers provide a birth certificate upon boarding, especially when a passport may not be required, so they can prove identity.
  • Social Security Card . . .
  • General Identification . . . .
If young people don't have a birth certificate with them, possibly they should ask their parents as they would have needed a birth certificate for many areas of life.  From the New York Times:
Amelia Flores, a high school senior with plans to become an electrical engineer, eagerly filled out a form to register to vote for the first time at the Kansas State Fair last month. But she left the fair without registering, stymied by a state law championed by Republicans who dominate elected offices in Kansas that requires her to provide proof of citizenship. 
“I think it’s ridiculous and restrictive,” said Ms. Flores, who later received a notice in the mail informing her that she must produce a birth certificate or other proof of citizenship to complete the registration. “A lot of people are working multiple jobs, so they don’t have time to get this stuff done. Some of them don’t have access to their birth certificate.”  
Ms. Flores, who said she was born in Washington State, unwittingly joined a list of more than 36,000 people in Kansas who have tried to register to vote since the law went into effect in 2013, but then did not complete their registration. This month, under a rule adopted by the Kansas secretary of state’s office, county election officials throughout the state began to cull names from the voters list, removing people who had been on it at least 90 days. Those removed from the list must start the registration process over to vote. . . . . 
An analysis by The New York Times of the list of voters showed . . . . Fifty-seven percent of the people on the list did not declare a party; 23 percent were Democrats, and 18 percent were Republicans. The vast majority — 90 percent — had never voted. . . .


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