Until I read her opinion column, I didn't know Georgia Secretary of State Karen Handel was looking for a voter harmed by the photo ID requirement (" 'Partisan bullying' unfounded in state photo ID requirement," @issue, July 28).

My 73-year-old mother is one.

After moving to Georgia from Florida, we attempted to obtain a Georgia ID. Based on the then-published requirements on the Department of Motor Vehicles Web site, we gathered proof of her new address (bank statement), birth certificate and valid Florida driver's license. At the DMV, we where told that as of May, the secretary of state required her marriage certificate because the name on her birth certificate did not match her driver's license. They would accept a passport with her married name, something she has never applied for.

The harm:

Tracking down and paying $40 for a copy of her marriage certificate.

Two trips to the DMV, time and gas.

Missing the July 15 primary.

Fortunately, Mom was savvy enough to track down the marriage certificate and had an extra $40. It is interesting to consider that the requirements for obtaining a U.S. passport are not as stringent for married women as the Georgia requirements for a photo ID.

So, based on Handel's column in the AJC, I know she will want to mitigate the harm done to my mother and me. Why doesn't she drop a check in the mail for the cost of the marriage certificate (the process really does seem to discriminate against married women) and the time and gas I spent for the extra trip to the DMV.

I think $75 should cover everything.

Thanks so much. Apologies accepted.

• Ed Neubaum lives in Marietta.