To obtain a driver’s license, residents must bring original or government‑certified documents verifying identity, citizenship, Social Security number, and current address. A birth certificate costs $12, a driver’s license is $25, and a passport can range from $130 to more than $165, plus additional fees for expedited processing and delivery. For many women, name‑change updates add another $25 to $50.

 

These costs fall unevenly. An estimated 69 million American women (roughly 84% of married women) do not have a birth certificate that matches their current legal name, requiring them to gather and pay for additional documents such as marriage licenses or

divorce decrees – simply to align their identity records.

 

South Carolina requires these documents to issue a driver’s license or state ID. Yet voters must still present one of those photo IDs at the polls. This raises a fundamental question: If the state has already verified a citizen’s identity through multiple documents, why must

voters prove it again on Election Day?

 

When you add up the fees for birth certificates, name‑change documents, driver’s licenses, passports, transportation to government offices, and time away from work, the reality becomes clear: voting carries real costs. And for many – especially women and

marginalized communities (i.e., rural, low-income, those who lack transportation) – these costs are not insignificant.

 

If states already possess everything needed to verify identity, why should citizens bemrequired to spend money to exercise a constitutional right?