after Elissa Slotkin points out that requiring a birth certificate to vote disenfranchises some women who changed their last names when they got married, Martha MacCallum says, "I changed stuff when I got married. It's not that hard to do that."
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Somebody tried to spin & just decided to tell us there is nothing to spin...
The issue isn't the "ease" of changing your name but proving you are who your birth certificate says you are AFTER you've changed your name, so it doesn't MATCH your bc
Can never tell if they're just dumb or think we are...
The act refers to registering to vote and making changes to your registration.
The Act does not refer to anything changing for those already registered under their correct name, address and district. It does not say you need a passport to vote. Yet🤞
Not just married women - adoptees whose names were changed from birth names, persons who changed their name for personal reasons, immigrants whose names were changed, etc.
These people probably marry their close relatives so their last name always stays the same. No wonder they overlooked this tiny little detail. Didn't occur to them that things might be different for someone marrying outside their own family.
My mom took me home from the hospital on a pillow on her lap, that doesn’t mean since I survived it’s something others should put faith in working out for them. 🙄
I had very specific details for any name I would take, but my fiance (whose name actually does fit the bill) is extremely against the idea of my changing my name so it doesn't matter
I decided when I was 12, I would not. When I did get married, I got so much grief for it. A friend gave me an ultimatum. My parents put me in their will w my husband's last name and my mom sent me mail w his name for 13 yrs.
She called me a couple of days ago and said, "You were right."
That's bonkers on their part. Especially on official documents. I hope they changed it on the will because that's a recipe for making inheritance a huge pain
To be fair to my mom, at year 13 (almost a decade ago) when I said I would return to sender anything addressed using his name, it clicked for her how hurtful and disrespectful it was, she stopped and has consistently used the right name since.
I will change my name back just to refuse to give these a$$holes what they want but it’s a pain in the a$$ & the license isn’t changed until you need a new one sometimes so you have to also make sure they issue the license too
She's in for a surprise if this passes and they don't accept her birth certificate bc it has her maiden name on it. No one I know changed their birth certificate when they got married, me included.
i get the feeling right wing women are more likely to change their names so i wonder if that factors in. it’s irrelevant in terms of the ethics or legality of this bullshit law though
Mark Twain said there were three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies, and statistics. Fox never has a problem with any of them if they serve its propagandistic purposes.
You cant change your birth certificate which may not align to your ID. Your state ID is not legal evidence of citizenship-only a passport would be. If you don’t have passport you’re out of luck.
Technically, you can change your name on your birth certificate. However, it typically requires a court order granting a name change and then apply to your birth state’s vital records office to amend your birth certificate. 🤷🏾♀️
I worked at a public library in a state that required documentation of every name change. We had lots of women ask us where to order certified copies of marriage, divorce, etc. papers. It can get complicated and $$$ and will definitely suppress the female vote which tends Democratic.
Y’all are missing the point. Obviously she meant she changed her name on other documents. The point is that she 1. has the documents to do so (marriage certificate, etc) and 2. she has the Mo ey to buy a passport.
Just because you can do something doesn’t mean 69 million people can too.
I recently looked into obtaining a certified copy of my birth certificate and it involved getting a $30 money order (no personal checks) and mailing the request with a copy of my ID or going through an online service that cost $61
True, but this also disenfranchises trans women, pretty intentionally. Most states won't let you change your name on your birth certificate, Michigan included
I'm sure that's why/how they started as we know the Heritage Foundation and Christian Nationalists want women to take their husband's name - then disenfranchise them - one vote per family crowd but it likely started with how can we legally go after trans people - then magically - let's get all women
It's the same way with the sports bans. Considering cis women have had to undergo genital inspections just to prove they aren't trans, cis women are hurt by these bans too. "Protecting women and girls act" doesn't protect them, it guarantees more will be assaulted.
CA will let you, at least in connection with a gender change. I don't know about marriage.
I doubt this will be allowed to stand if it goes through, but if it does, it's interesting that conservative women are more likely to change their names on getting married.
Texas will let you change it if you had a legal name change but they straight up tell you “this isn’t required” if you changed your name after you got married. It’s confusing - as they want it to be.
Right, she changed her birth certificate to her married name when she got married. Fox hosts have absolutely no shame. Note that I refuse to refer to them as "Fox News".
They should have been forced to drop the word "News" from their corporate logo as part of their settlement with Dominion for deliberately lying. I hope Smartmatic makes them.
Your birth certificate name does not get changed. What does get changed is your name after marriage if you want by filing with SocSec. & your County clerk. Please ladies it’s time u no longer change your name legally. U can still call yourself Mrs Smith socially if u choose.
It isn't that hard to change stuff when you get married. What IS hard is proving you're you when your birth certificate says one thing and your passport or DL say something else.
She did not change her birth certificate. And trying to get a copy of it now can be problematic. That’s the point – – not that she changed her name and filed all the proper paperwork so it is correct at the IRS on the DMV etc..
Note: her prior license, her marriage certificate (she did NOT change her name), all other docs had been just fine with her shortened name!
But because the BIRTH certificate had a more ornate name (before her parents realized the name was too big for any infant), they made her jump through hoops.
There's a lot of seniors that no loner drive so copies of marriage certificates (75 years for my parents!) & birth certificates are much more difficult to obtain. It's hard enough just getting to doctor appointments. Hands Off rallies certainly showed that they are engaged & still fighting for US 🇺🇸🏳️🌈
My 85 year old neighbor has never missed a vote. She was born in rural E Ky. She doesn’t have a birth certificate. I suggested she start calling now so she can vote in Nov.
I love genealogy. It's not uncommon to need to look for several marriage records to explain a woman's name changes. Can you imagine your Aunt Sally who's been married five times trying to change her voter registration?
It's a double bind. You need to register with the same name you use to vote. But it is illegal to vote with a false name, which would be your maiden name if you official changed your name at marriage. And, if you change your name back, then you need to change every identifying document (1/2)
Driver's License, Passport and Passport cards all require LEGAL names and that's verified through MARRIAGE license and/or Birth certificate. If the Birth certificate doesn't match the name applied under the applicant has to show proof of name change. Pretty simply stuff.
Not at all simple for women. If you married and your name changed to husband, your birth cert will not enable you to be able to register to vote. Your marriage cert won’t either bc your name on marriage cert is your maiden name. You will have to spend $130 and get a passport as proof. Not simple.
Having been married 2x I’m lucky I took my maiden name back after my divorce. I would have been scrounging around trying to figure out how to get my paperwork from my first marriage in 1987 addition to getting my marriage certificate from my second marriage in 1993. I got a Real ID already.
Irony! My driver's license, passport and voter reg. were under my married name & Social Security was my birth certificate name, the SS agent insisted I change my SS to my married name when we signed up for benefits 5 yrs ago. No way could I change all of that even if I wanted to with SS so messed up
Technically, you can change your name on your birth certificate. However, it typically requires a court order granting a name change and then apply to your birth state’s vital records office to amend your birth certificate. 🤷🏾♀️
💯 My wife and I just got our real IDs and that wasn't easy. And we live in a blue state and are not people without the means/documentation to get it. I couldn't imagine a person of lower income and stuff trying to get it. Or a minority in a red state.
It wasn't hard at all. I had my assistant get all the documents and go to the courthouse. It wasn't much money, maybe a few hundred dollars total. What's the big deal?
She is ignorant to think that everyone has the time, freedom, and money to about changing crap all over the place. She's also ignoring that requiring women to do this makes them less than men. It must be easy for her to disavow her vows and ask other women to accommodate this.
You can't/don't change your birth certificate when you get married.. what the hell is wrong with this woman? To fix the voting problem for women they need to amend the law that marriage certificates count towards proof of citizenship. Otherwise women are fucked.
Well, I’d have that problem too as would most women who married pre-mid 1980s (in the U.K. anyway) when it was just presumed you’d change your name. But I could use my passport which shows both my ‘maiden’ and married name…
I changed my name (not on my birth certificate because TIL that's even a thing?) and it was fucking pricey 25 years ago and a GINORMOUS pain in the ass
Same, and it took years to fully change over everything. I only made the change because it was just less of a hassle being in the military with a consistent family name. It was necessary in some cases that my last name matched my husband's. This is complete bullshit.
I thought of doing the same but then you have to change everything to your current name: credit cards, bank accounts etc. It’s going to be a lot of work. And it involves government workers who are short staffed. My enhanced drivers license took 2 tries because of inadequate staffing.
It's not hard to do if you're among the majority who live within 50 miles of where you're born so you can easily visit the office of vital records in your birthplace.
When you've moved across the country or simply live in a huge browneye^H^H^H^H^H^H^Hlonestar state, it's not so simple.
A birth certificate costs almost $60, I was just looking to get a copy of mine this morning. That doesn't include postage, the required notary and my time. That's a poll tax and real money to a lot of folks. These mfers 😠
It's a stupid law designed to discourage voting!
Voter fraud has always been rare;
we should worry more about DOGE's techie boys and Elon messing with the Voting Technology!
Ironically I suspect there's more than a bit of overlap between "people who approve of voter suppression", and "people who think women who don't change their names after marriage are pushy feminist harpies, especially if they're artists or professionals"
Gosh, it must be a huge problem in the US when women try to vote using their married name. How was that ever allowed? Such duplicitous, cheating women probably vote Democrat and so this really must be stamped out at once.
The reason it shoves women and others into getting a passport card ($65) is that's the only way the change of name can be verified easily. We may have to make a full court press to get that for poor women if Dems can't stop this in the Senate.
To get a passport, I provided my marriage certificate to validate my name change. Why then won't they allow that same document as proof to register to vote? Answer: because they want to make it difficult and costly.
It's a poll tax. Unconstitutional. A U.S. passport costs between $100 to $246.36 in 2025, depending on the applicant's age and whether it's a first-time application or a renewal. Additional fees may apply for expedited processing or other services.
Id *realllly* like to know if we have to do this every time we move. Ive re-registered with every address change via mail and its super easy. Would we have to go in person with our docs with each move? Ive moved 8 times since i turned 18, thatd have been a huge burden. WILL be a huge burden.
Did she just claim to have changed her birth certificate to her married name when she got married? And that it wasn't that hard? Is MacCallum really that stupid?
I guarantee the Fox News watching Republican women are not going to go through the long process to get their documents, especially when hosts are saying it's not a big deal.
This will disenfranchise Republicans who delay. Dem, do it NOW.
Perhaps her legal name used with DMV, etc. is Martha Gregory and she uses her birth name Martha MacCallum professionally. Lots of professional women do that.
Because their audience never hears rational arguments. More Dems should go on Faux News well prepared with facts and talking points like Pete Buttogieg.
Fair enough, but tbh, I feel like they are so dig into their views that they couldn’t care less and will still think what’s worse for themselves and everyone around them.
Next up, a National ID card! Because nothing says freedom like a mandatory govt-issued barcode. Ditch the pesky birth cert & enjoy seamless digital tracking, bundled with Elon’s totally-not-creepy payment portal. A little surveillance-y, but voting (the ‘right’ kind of vote that is) is sooo easy...
This is made to disenfranchise trans people. In michigan I could not get my birth certificate changed, I'm trans. They want to remove us from public life and rob us from our voice in legislation.
Here's a quote from a Newsweek article about the SAVE Act "noncitizen voting is already illegal under federal law & instances of it are extremely rare. An audit in Georgia found only 20 noncitizens attempted to register among 8.4 million voters all of whom were flagged & referred to law enforcement"
These misogynistic idiots are beyond words! I've voted for 40+ years legally as a citizen of this country.
Beside making it harder, a Marriage certificate isn't enough to bridge gap between a birth certificate and a current ID?? killing me ! WTF
I can't help think she's working to interview for a republican position by doing this, because she's proven to us over and over that she's not a real Democrat.
except you have to pull or find all the old paperwork! And really what is the issue in the first place? Do they really think your married name makes you invalid to vote!
Comments
The issue isn't the "ease" of changing your name but proving you are who your birth certificate says you are AFTER you've changed your name, so it doesn't MATCH your bc
Can never tell if they're just dumb or think we are...
I changed my social security & drivers license names, but you can't change the birth cert.
what about a passport?
The Act does not refer to anything changing for those already registered under their correct name, address and district. It does not say you need a passport to vote. Yet🤞
https://www.americanprogress.org/article/the-save-act-would-disenfranchise-millions-of-citizens/
She called me a couple of days ago and said, "You were right."
Well, at least until they decide to finally do away with the women suffrage down the road.
They are so Fucking disconnected from reality it beyond disturbing 😳
What poll? Who conducted it? When? 83% of whom?
Mark Twain said there were three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies, and statistics. Fox never has a problem with any of them if they serve its propagandistic purposes.
Just because you can do something doesn’t mean 69 million people can too.
God I hope Martha can’t fucking vote in the next election
oh my fucking God
newsflash to all women just don’t ever change your fucking name going forward.
It’s a fucking antiquated tradition
shit
these stupid fuck heads!!!!!!!!!
which is ANOTHER barrier
I doubt this will be allowed to stand if it goes through, but if it does, it's interesting that conservative women are more likely to change their names on getting married.
With a unique personal number for all your live.
It works.
How disingenuous.
Her birth certificate lists her full birth name; all documents since list a very common nickname variation.
4 months and tens of hours later, she got her license.
But because the BIRTH certificate had a more ornate name (before her parents realized the name was too big for any infant), they made her jump through hoops.
"Is such blatant disregard for your fellow women even possible?
Republicans!"
(oh and it erases a woman's history too...)
It's quite hard to do
GAH
When you've moved across the country or simply live in a huge browneye^H^H^H^H^H^H^Hlonestar state, it's not so simple.
Voter fraud has always been rare;
we should worry more about DOGE's techie boys and Elon messing with the Voting Technology!
Alrightly, then.
Get fucked.
xx, Pissed off, sane Americans
I will happily go back to using my maiden name, however, to be able to keep voting against these people.
A Schedule?
Damn James Woods!!
This will disenfranchise Republicans who delay. Dem, do it NOW.
They need to go where audiences (and voters) are
This is fucking sickening.
These fucking people really are the worst of humanity.
These misogynistic idiots are beyond words! I've voted for 40+ years legally as a citizen of this country.
Beside making it harder, a Marriage certificate isn't enough to bridge gap between a birth certificate and a current ID?? killing me ! WTF
I will vote for anyone that primaries her.