{"id":20624,"date":"2024-05-28T16:09:17","date_gmt":"2024-05-28T16:09:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.voteriders.org\/?p=20624"},"modified":"2025-02-20T16:51:53","modified_gmt":"2025-02-20T16:51:53","slug":"edwards-story","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.voteriders.org\/edwards-story\/","title":{"rendered":"&#8220;In My Lifetime, There Hasn&#8217;t Been a Greater Time To Vote Than Now&#8221; Says Alabama Voter"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Edward&#8217;s life began to spiral after he lost his job and his Alabama state ID was stolen after someone broke into his car. His situation worsened with the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, which left Edward ineligible for government aid without proper identification. Edward faced bureaucratic hurdles and repeated rejections for nearly five years during his attempts to obtain a new ID. A radio PSA, broadcasted from Georgia, describing VoteRiders\u2019 free services offered a lifeline, leading to weeks of dedicated assistance from VoteRiders staff and volunteers who were able to help Edward secure his ID. Edward can now work, vote, and travel to visit his family.\u00a0<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<p><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> BY ERIN CARDEN, DIGITAL COMMUNICATIONS COORDINATOR, VOTERIDERS \u2014 MAY 28, 2024<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Everything fell apart at once.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">First, Best Buy underwent a restructuring and 43-year-old Edward lost his supervisor position.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">As he was actively looking for new employment, his car was broken into and everything was stolen, including his wallet, which held his Alabama state ID.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Then the COVID-19 pandemic hit.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Without an ID, Edward couldn\u2019t get a new job. He also wasn\u2019t eligible for the COVID-19 economic impact payments the US government gave to individuals and families.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Edward spent years trying to secure a new identification.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><strong>\u201cDuring the next five years, I would periodically go down to the ID office,\u201c he explained. \u201cI attempted to get my ID 20 or so times but I would always get stopped at the door. Each place I went, they\u2019d want me to have something I didn\u2019t have. They\u2019d say, \u2018You don&#8217;t have this information so you can&#8217;t get your ID.\u2019 They wanted me to have three forms of primary ID and one of those forms is a government ID, which was what I was trying to get! I was going in circles. It was a horrible experience.\u201d<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">No ID meant that for almost five years Edward couldn\u2019t receive government benefits, couldn\u2019t secure a job, and <\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/www.voteriders.org\/states\/alabama\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">couldn\u2019t exercise his freedom to vote<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. He also knew he wouldn\u2019t be able to fly to Chicago to see his son graduate from his Navy Boot Camp.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Then, one day in January 2024, Edward was in the car with his wife in his home state of Alabama when he happened to hear a radio PSA from a Georgia radio station just across the border. This is when he learned about <\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/www.voteriders.org\/freehelp\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">VoteRiders\u2019 free voter ID services<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cThe ad was about the importance of voting and needing ID to vote,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd the first thing I thought was, maybe this place can help me get an ID! Voting is definitely something I wanted to do but <\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/www.voteriders.org\/states\/alabama\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">you can&#8217;t vote in Alabama without an ID<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. I wanted to make sure that in November, I do use my voice. So that\u2019s when I reached out to VoteRiders.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">After Edward called VoteRiders\u2019 free Helpline number, a team of <\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/www.voteriders.org\/volunteer\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">volunteers<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and staff jumped on board. Even with multiple hands on deck, Edward\u2019s case was far from straightforward.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">With VoteRiders&#8217; help, first Edward gathered all of the documents he could use to prove his identity \u2014 including his birth certificate, marriage license, insurance card, and high school transcript.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">But when he got to the office this time, he was stopped at the door <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">again<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cI didn\u2019t have a Social Security card and they said my birth certificate wasn\u2019t enough,\u201d Edward explained. \u201cThey wanted me to have <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">two<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> forms of primary ID.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A second employee approached Edward and mentioned that instead of a Social Security card, Edward could submit a tax return. So Edward turned around, walked four miles back home, shuffled through old paperwork, found his previous tax return, and then walked right back to the ID-issuing office. With his tax return in hand, Edward finalized the remaining paperwork and was sitting down to have his photograph taken for his new ID when the process was brought, yet again, to a staggering halt.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This time, there was an alleged problem with the birthdate on Edward\u2019s birth certificate.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cThe lady there said she couldn\u2019t read the number seven clearly,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd therefore she couldn&#8217;t prove that I didn&#8217;t mess with it \u2014 even though that date was written in other places on my birth certificate.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">So Edward left. But this time he had someone to call.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">VoteRiders\u2019 National Voter ID Assistance Director, <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.voteriders.org\/team\/pamela-pearson-esq\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Pam Pearson<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, told Edward to go to his local Social Security Office and ask for a notarized copy of his birth certificate \u2014\u00a0<\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/www.voteriders.org\/freehelp\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">VoteRiders would cover the fee<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cI asked the lady there to print out the copy of my birth certificate that they had on file and compare it to the one that I had \u2014\u00a0the one they told me wasn&#8217;t good enough,\u201d he explained. \u201cIt was the exact same birth certificate so she put a notarized stamp on it to tell the people at the ID place that this birth certificate is not tampered with.\u201c<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Immediately after, Edward returned to the ID office with his notarized birth certificate in hand. The first employee he spoke to confirmed his paperwork was complete. A second employee, however, told him that this time, he needed a Social Security card. Edward\u2019s patience was dwindling. He asked to speak to another employee but instead, a sheriff was called in and Edward was told to leave the premises.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Edward contacted Pam again to give her an update on the deteriorating situation. This time, Pam found a workaround. It was not an ideal solution, as it required involving Edward\u2019s elderly and disabled mother, but it worked. Edward\u2019s mother accompanied her son to the Social Security Office and signed a form that allowed him to secure his Social Security card without a government-issued ID.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">With his Social Security card, notarized birth certificate, <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">and <\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">several other secondary forms of identification, Edward returned to his ID-issuing office. This time, he was finally able to secure his Alabama state ID.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><strong>\u201cThe biggest service VoteRiders provides is having your back,\u201d he said. \u201cVoteRiders gave me an inner peace, a new fighting spirit&#8230;Somebody that<\/strong><strong> ain&#8217;t got nothing to do with your situation but feels your \u2014 empathy is probably the better word \u2014 showing that nobility&#8230;I think more people need to know about VoteRiders \u2014 as many as possible. &#8220;<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Life is a lot different for Edward now that he has a state ID.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">With the prospect of employment on the horizon and his renewed ability to participate in his democracy, Edward feels more like a role model for his two young adult sons.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_20625\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-20625\" style=\"width: 300px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-20625\" src=\"https:\/\/www.voteriders.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/Edward-Pride-AL-300x300.jpg\" alt=\"&quot;In My Lifetime, There Hasn't Been a Greater Time To Vote Than Now&quot; Says Alabama Voter\" width=\"300\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.voteriders.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/Edward-Pride-AL-300x300.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.voteriders.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/Edward-Pride-AL-1024x1024.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.voteriders.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/Edward-Pride-AL-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.voteriders.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/Edward-Pride-AL-768x768.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.voteriders.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/Edward-Pride-AL-500x500.jpg 500w, https:\/\/www.voteriders.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/Edward-Pride-AL.jpg 1080w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-20625\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Edward (far right) with his two sons<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cI just want to be a productive member of society,\u201d he explained. \u201cNow I can be more of a father and role model for my two boys. Not having an ID took a lot away from that. Now we can all vote together. Everybody has to voice their opinion on where they want to live, where they want their kids to live. In my lifetime, there hasn&#8217;t been a greater time to vote than now.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The safety and security that having an ID brings is also a great relief for Edward and his family.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cNow I can get my driver&#8217;s license and drive a car without the fear of being pulled over and risking whatever comes along with that,\u201d he explained. \u201cI didn\u2019t feel comfortable going anywhere without ID because somebody could ask me who I was and if I didn&#8217;t have that ID to verify who I was, I could have found myself stuck in a crazy situation.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">With his new Alabama ID, Edward was able to hop on a plane to Chicago with his wife to attend their son\u2019s graduation ceremony. Now his son is at a new school, only four hours away from their home.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cNow <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">I can get in the car and drive down there and see him,\u201d Edward beamed. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cMore people need to know about VoteRiders. I&#8217;m just so happy that I heard that radio ad \u2014 I only heard it one time \u2014 I&#8217;m just so happy. Thank you, VoteRiders, for not leaving anybody out of this process.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Edward&#8217;s life began to spiral after he lost his job and his Alabama state ID was stolen after someone broke into his car. His situation worsened with the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, which left Edward ineligible for government aid without proper identification. Edward faced bureaucratic hurdles and repeated rejections for nearly five years during [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":11,"featured_media":20625,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[710,113],"tags":[385,308,344,343,381,380,339,328],"class_list":["post-20624","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-save-stories","category-voter-stories","tag-alabama","tag-voter-id","tag-voter-id-assistance","tag-voter-id-education","tag-voter-id-info","tag-voter-id-information","tag-voter-id-laws","tag-voteriders","state-al"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.4 (Yoast SEO v26.5) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Alabama Voter Gets Free Help After Years Without ID<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"A radio PSA describing VoteRiders\u2019 free ID services led to weeks of dedicated assistance from VoteRiders staff and volunteers who were able to help Edward.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.voteriders.org\/edwards-story\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"&quot;In My Lifetime, There Hasn&#039;t Been a Greater Time To Vote Than Now&quot; 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