Elizabeth Cook, former editor of the Salisbury Post, writes of her experience with obtaining needed ID and the many obstacles that women voters could face should the Trump Republican SAVE Act pass the Senate. From the Salisbury Post Letters to the Editor, 2/19/26. Read more at: https://www.salisburypost.com/2026/02/19/letters-unreal-id/

A warning to married or soon-to-be married women who take their husband’s name: Be prepared to show your marriage certificate to authorities if you plan to vote after the SAVE Act passes.

And if you dropped your first name when you got married, as I did, be prepared to jump through more hoops.

I attempted to get a Real ID when I renewed my drivers license a few years ago. My application was denied because the last name on my birth certificate didn’t match my current ID. The law required proof that I was legally married and had therefore legitimately changed my last name. They had to see my marriage certificate.

I’d been married more than 40 years and could not find that document among my papers at home. I proceeded to get my drivers license without the Real ID star and contacted Virginia authorities to get an official copy of our marriage certificate. For the next time.

That time came two weeks ago. Expecting to travel soon, I applied once more for the Real ID at the only nearby DMV office that had an appointment open, in Yadkinville. Request denied, this time because I had dropped the first name on my birth certificate, Mary, and have used my given middle name, Elizabeth, on every ID since marriage.

The DMV rep said Elizabeth Graves Cook was not my legal name under the federal Real ID law, even though it appears on my drivers license, Social Security card and expired passport. I objected, of course. Strongly. But he and several “subject matter experts” at the DMV have advised me to legally change my name (to what it is) and/or get a new passport that could be accepted for Real ID purposes.

I’m pursuing both of those avenues, for good measure. But think about it. Is this how current federal leaders plan to “protect the vote,” by requiring extra documentation from married women and considering middle names not legal?

The Senate appears poised to pass “The Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act.” Those who support it brush aside concerns that, like the Real ID, this law may require women to show proof of marriage. It’s not that hard, they say. I beg to differ.

Besides, as I learned, proving marriage is not the only obstacle in federal identification standards. There could be even more.

— Elizabeth G. Cook

RCDP request: Call your NC Senators in DC and ask them to not support SAVE (The Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act) for the reasons above and many others. Thom Tillis – 202-224-6342 Ted Budd – 202-224-3154

Learn more from the Brennan Center for Justice analysis: https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/analysis-opinion/new-save-act-bills-would-still-block-millions-americans-voting

Read more at: https://www.salisburypost.com/2026/02/19/letters-unreal-id/