Could Adoptees Lose the Right to Vote?

I don't think many people in the general population understand just how big a deal losing the right to access your Original Birth Certificate is, let alone have whether or not it was ever your right to have one contested repeatedly.  The impact of being denied runs deep into different areas of adoptees' lives.  Foremost, there is the central issue of being denied the equality of access to a document all others receive.  Then there are the issues of being denied truth and for some, not having a birth certificate means they have one less tie to the basic human right to knowledge of ancestry and roots.  Being denied our Original Birth Certificates also complicates things for adoptees when it comes to issues of identity where some adoptees are denied passports and have difficulty obtaining drivers licenses.  Our access to a passport stands to continually become more difficult.  Due to the issue drummed up by some about Obama's birth certificate, legislation has been considered on the national and state level (in multiple states) to require anyone running for public office or the presidency to show their Original Birth Certificate to do so.  This means many adoptees would never be able to run for political office and participate in government and policy-making in that way.  Could this issue go so far as to one day make it so that adoptees cannot vote?

I will use Pennsylvania as an example.  In Pennsylvania, all first-time voters must show identification.  Acceptable forms of identification include: a PA driver's license, an ID card issued by PennDOT, and ID issued by another commonwealth agency, a U.S. government ID (with or without a photo), a U.S. Passport, a Student ID, an employee ID, a firearm permit, a current utility bill, a current bank statement, or a current paycheck.  However, this stands to be changed by HB 934, a controversial piece of legislation that would make only an ID issued by PennDOT (an ID or a PA driver's license) acceptable to vote.  This legislation is criticized because opponents fear that a considerable amount of eligible voters may be blocked from voting due to the impracticality of the proposed requirements.  For example, if someone does not already have a PA driver's license, they may lack the means of transportation to get to a PennDOT location to obtain a PennDOT issued ID.  Some individuals who work long hours or have multiple jobs to support their family may not have time to wait in the long lines at PennDOT to obtain an ID.  Opponents fear that this will disenfranchise citizens who have lesser means to abide by the requirements from voting, namely the elderly and the poor, and those in groups who are most likely to be among the poor: women, single mothers, and multicultural groups.

Legislation like this also raises concern for me as an adoptee when I go to the PennDot website to see what forms of identification are required in order to obtain a PennDOT-issued identification card.  Depending on your age and whether you are a new or current resident of PA, the requirements differ slightly, with everyone requried to show one form of ID from "List A."

"List A" includes:

• A U.S. birth certificate with a raised seal
• A Certificate of U.S. Citizenship
• A Certificate of Naturalization
• A U.S. Passport

PennDot specifies...
"Only valid Passports and original documents will be accepted. If the name on your original document differs from your current name, you must provide documentation that connects the names, such as an original Marriage Certificate, Divorce Decree, or Court Order document" (source).

As someone who is very involved in the current Adoptee Rights Movement in Pennsylvania, I will honestly say that I have never had a PA (PA-born or born elsewhere but residing in PA) adoptee come to me and say they couldn't get a driver's license although I do know people who have had issues in other states.  However, the issue lies within the fact that the birth certificate that most adoptees nation-wide receive is not the original birth certificate and the issue arises when the filing date listed on the amended certificate is far past the time of birth indicating that another birth document existed before the amended one that the adoptee is issued.  I am concerned that getting a driver's license or PennDOT issued ID could become an issue for adoptees in PA--which means also if bills like HB 943 pass--voting will also become an issue.  I think we've more than gotten the message that identity is important with increased measures (or legislative attempts thereof) for proving identity to vote, run for public office, travel internationally, and drive.  Why don't more people "get" that identity is important for adoptees too, especially when society continues to make requirements adoptees can't meet--and can't meet by no fault of our own but because of other rules society also made.  It's like telling a bird to fly after you've just clipped its wings.