In this Oct. 4, 2011 photo, Dorothy Cooper, 96, discusses problems she had getting a photo identification card at the Hamilton County Election Commission in Chattanooga, Tenn. The Boynton Terrace resident plans to vote by absentee ballot, which will not require a photo ID.RELATED STORYAARP to help raise awareness about Tennessee voter ID law
Tom Humphrey, Nashville Bureau Chief
The case of Dorothy Cooper, a 96-year-old Chattanooga woman who encountered problems in trying to get a free photo ID for voting under a new state law, has gained national attention and is being used in fundraising by the state Democratic Party.
As initially reported by the Chattanooga Times Free Press, Cooper – who had been voting since the 1930s – went to a driver’s license station to get a photo ID and was turned down because she didn’t have her marriage certificate. She did have a birth certificate, her voter registration card and other documents.
In a fundraising letter last week, state Democratic Chairman Chip Forrester cites the case as an example of how “the Republican photo ID law has suppressed another voter.” He asks for donations “to support our efforts to ensure people like Dorothy – or your grandmother – can be a voter on Election Day.”