4-27-2016-ERNIE ALLEN’S-TOP STORY-
Dancing with the Obamas is one thing, but getting a non-drivers’ photo ID from the Washington, D.C. Department of Motor Vehicles is a whole different thing.
That difference was apparent for Virginia McLaurin, the 107-year-old woman who became an Internet sensation after the White House posted a video of her dancing with the Obamas.
Despite the video being viewed nearly 66 million times, The Huffington Post reports that McLaurin’s request for a photo ID was denied by the D.C. DMV.
Detailing her reason for the photo ID, McLaurin described how she lost her photo ID years ago when her purse was stolen. Although McLaurin and her son, Felipe Cardoso, recently met with a DMV official to try to replace the photo ID, strict new federal guidelines required McLaurin to show her birth certificate to get a new ID. Further complicating matters is the fact that McLaurin needed to show a photo ID to get her birth certificate from South Carolina.
“I don’t think I’ll ever get that face card,” McLaurin told The Washington Post. “I was birthed by a midwife and the birthday put in a Bible somewhere. I don’t know if they even had birth certificates back then.”
While she does have a temporary ID, it won’t do McLaurin much good if she wants to fly, for example, the Post noted. Despite this, McLaurin is still able to vote since Washington, D.C., doesn’t require photo ID to cast a ballot.
“It’s sad to see my mother having to stand in lines, getting tired,” Cardoso told the Post. “She can’t understand how her picture could be in all those newspapers and all over the Internet, how so many people could recognize her on the street and want to take selfies with her, and she can’t even get a photo ID.”
Fortunately, things have worked out for McLaurin, who now possess a new photo ID.
On Tuesday (April 26), D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser announced that the city was expanding the list of acceptable documents required to obtain a District-issued Real ID for D.C. residents age 70 and older.
The Washington Post reports that Bowser and other D.C. officials visited McLaurin Tuesday afternoon to help her complete the necessary paperwork to get her new ID.
Turns out, McLaurin received a temporary ID that will be valid until her permanent ID arrives in the mail. Realizing her efforts to get a new photo ID paid off, McLaurin credited Bowser, among others, for making it happen.
“I thank the Lord, Mayor Bowser, and everyone who helped me get my photo ID renewed,” she said. “I am especially happy to know that now all seniors in D.C., will be able to get an ID more easily.”
By EURWeb
