But this year, Decoursey got a scare that even she, an elections official, might not be able to perform her cherished ritual this time around. A new state voting law has nearly derailed her ability to vote by requiring credentials like a birth certificate that she doesn’t have.
And she’s not the only one. 96-year-old Louise Furness, like other seniors across the state, face a similar dilemma. The cause of all their concerns is their difficulty in obtaining the required birth documentation to accommodate the new voter identification bill. The problem is that would-be voters can’t get the photo identification without the birth certificate.
Decoursey is so well connected that on the face of it she would appear to be one of the last people to have a problem getting a birth certificate, even though she, like many of her generation, was born at home in the South at a time when the births of Black people weren’t tracked as closely as others.
“Back then, they didn’t have birth certificates,” said Furness.
Until higher political officials intervened, Decoursey, who had tried for years without success to obtain a birth certificate, thought she would not have a chance to once again vote for a Black president. Decoursey worries that if she has had such difficulty what must it be like for other Black seniors.
Furness is one of those who still have a problem.
As in the case of Decoursey, her problem has been proving that she was ever born.