PORTAGE | Diane Pearson just wanted her daughter to have a state ID card. But a trip to the BMV last week has her thinking the requirements to get an identification card aren't exactly fair.
Her daughter, Christina, 20, has Down syndrome and lives in a group home in Mishawaka, Ind. Proving her residency through a short list of acceptable documents was difficult for Pearson to do.
In all, it took four trips to two branches and calls to the Bureau of Motor Vehicles' Indianapolis headquarters in two days before Christina was able to get her ID card.
"I had felt that it was absolutely ridiculous for my daughter to have to go through this. She's not a terrorist," Pearson said. "It was absolutely crazy."
Christina's problem was that she and her mother couldn't provide one of the state-required residency documents, such as a child support check, current utility bill, property deed or voter registration card. Christina has none of those.
"These people don't get bills in their name," Pearson said. "She needs help with most everything."
The Indiana Civil Liberties Union is currently challenging a state law that requires a government-issued ID card to vote. Last month, the U.S. Supreme Court granted a full review of the law, which the ICLU and other community groups contend restricts access of the disabled, senior citizens and other portions of the population to voting polls.
Dennis Rosenbrough, the BMV's communication director, said getting a state ID shouldn't have been as complicated as it was for Pearson and her daughter.
"I'm sure our staff did what they could do to accommodate her, but they're under very strict order to only accept only what's spelled out in the law," Rosenbrough said. "It's very important for all states to issue the IDs in a very careful way. This is not unusual to Indiana in any stretch of the imagination."
Pearson, though, would like to see some changes, namely when it comes to people with disabilities.
"If she got lost or needed help, it would be a good thing to have," Pearson said. "That's all I wanted to get. It's just a shame we have to go through all this work."
