When voting in person on election day or during early voting, a voter must show a photo identification card, and if that is not available, the voter must sign and complete an affidavit that includes their date of birth and mother’s maiden name.
This proposed legislation would remove the option to include mother’s maiden name. Further, it would update the law so that if a voter does not have a photo identification card, they must sign an affidavit with their full name and address where they are registered to vote instead of utilizing their mother’s maiden name. By removing the Mother’s maiden name from the options for additional information and using it as a confirmation of a signed affidavit, it removes a barrier to voting for people who may not have access to their mother’s maiden name and instead uses information that would be available to more voters.
Inability to include a voter’s mother’s maiden name on otherwise completed forms has been used as a reason for the registrar of voters to decline a voter registration form and this proposed legislation would remove that barrier.