Initial disclosure – the headline is hyperbole but Kevin O’Neal, writing for the Indy Star, has an article entitled Mismatched records may cost Hoosiers their licenses.
Beginning next week, the BMV will send letters to 206,000 people asking them to update their driver’s license or state identification card information. If the BMV doesn’t get correct information or does not hear from those people, their licenses or ID cards will be revoked.
This is something required by the federal government who wants the bureaucracy to keep closer tabs on the citizenry. The 2005 federal Real ID act requires that names, genders, and dates of birth match Social Security records. Certainly that’s desirable, but it imposes a burden on citizens for record discrepancies that may be the fault of the citizen or may be the fault of government record keepers.
This becomes particularly important because in 2005, the Indiana Republicans pushed through a requirement that, before exercising their right to vote, citizens prove their identity through state or federal IDs and not with any other sorts of proof. If you get your license yanked because the Social Security Administration made a mistake, that could also result in your losing your right to vote.
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