Bill would disproportionately impact senior WV voters

WV Seniors take note: a bill, HB 4013, that imposes new barriers to voting has passed our state House of Delegates and is currently in the Senate Judiciary committee.

"For elections after January 1, 2018, the person desiring to vote shall present to one of the poll clerks an identifying document meeting the requirements of subdivision (1) of this subsection; and, the poll clerk shall inspect and confirm that the name on the identifying document conforms to the name in the individual's voter registration record and that the image displayed is truly an image of the person presenting the document."

Seniors and people who do not drive are among those who are more likely to be prevented from being able to vote if this measure passes since they are less likely to have a drivers license, the most likely form of identification that will be used by successful voters. At WV Senior Legal Aid we have served several senior West Virginians who have moved here, many moving back home to retire after careers spent in other states, and have had trouble producing the necessary documentation to get a drivers license in WV. Because of the new identity documentation requirements post-USA PATRIOT Act getting or renewing a drivers license has become more difficult. It is not uncommon for seniors who may have had drivers licenses for decades to not be able to fulfill these documentation requirements. For example, many people in their 60's, 70's, and beyond have never had birth certificates. Older women may also have trouble getting Social Security cards with their married or divorced names on them. Past practices at the Social Security administration allowed people to get new cards for name changes without documentation or changing the name in their Social Security record. New policies don't permit that, so women who changed their names may have to produce documentation from decades ago, pre-internet and pre-computerization, including divorce decrees or other court ordered name changes.

You can see the text of the bill here http://www.legis.state.wv.us/Bill_Status/bills_text.cfm?billdoc=HB4013%20SUB%20ENG.htm&yr=2016&sesstype=RS&i=4013 and the status of the bill here http://www.legis.state.wv.us/Bill_Status/bills_history.cfm?INPUT=4013&year=2016&sessiontype=RS.

Who is J. R. Clifford?

One of West Virginia's greatest lawyers. This African-American civil rights pioneer was born in 1848 near what is now Moorefield WV. He fought for the Union Army in the civil war at age 15. He attended Storer College in Harper's Ferry. In 1882 he started publishing the Pioneer Press.

In 1887 he was admitted to the bar by the West Virginia Supreme Court and in 1898 he won equal rights in education for black West Virginians in the landmark case Williams v. Board of Education. This was 50 years before Brown v. Board of Education brought those rights to the rest of the country.

Clifford went on to help found the Niagara Movement in 1906, a precursor to the NAACP.

It's Black History month and we at WVSLA celebrate our state's rich history of leading the south toward political equality and justice for African Americans. Thank you J. R. Clifford!

For lots more information check out the J. R. Clifford project online at www.jrclifford.org/index.html

2016 Federal Poverty Guidelines

Eligibility for many benefit programs is based on the Federal Poverty Guidelines which are updated annual by the federal Department of Health and Human Services. The 2016 guidelines were published in the federal register on 1/27/16 Here below is a chart showing the annual and monthly income guidelines:

2016 Federal Poverty Level Guidelines

Family Size	100% Annual	100% Monthly	135% Monthly
1	$11,880	$990	$1,336
2	$16,020	$1,335	$1,802
3	$20,160	$1,680	$2,268
4	$24,300	$2,025	$2,733
5	$28,440	$2,370	$3,199
6	$32,580	$2,715	$3,665

FTC enhances IdentityTheft.gov

FTC announced enhancements to IdentityTheft.gov – the federal government’s free, one-stop resource to help people fix problems caused by identity theft.

IdentityTheft.gov makes it easier for victims of identity theft to report it and recover from it. New features on the site allow people to:

• Get a personal recovery plan that walks them through each step
• Update their personal plan and track their progress
• Print pre-filled letters & forms to send to credit bureaus, businesses, and debt collectors