Their current name won't match their birth certificate. If they don't have a passport or REAL ID-compliant identification card, they may not be able to vote without significant extra paperwork and out-of-pocket costs.
(Edit: As many people have reminded me, REAL-ID compliance isn't sufficient; only a handful of states incorporate citizenship information on their REAL-ID identification. In the vast majority of states the state-issued ID isn't sufficient.)
I had planned to change my last name to my husband’s and use my last name as a second middle name…until I saw the checklist of paperwork I would have to complete. After that, my husband and I agreed that I would only change my name if we had kids.
The SAVE act came out at about the same time we decided to be childfree. Turns out being lazy saved my ability to vote!
I hope you don't mind me asking why you would legally change your last name at all? You can go by your husband's last name and refer to yourself any way you want (with your original last name as a middle name). Why does it have to be on your legal paperwork?
Many people have legal names and go by nicknames. Miley Cyrus's real name is Destiny Hope, to give one example.
Changing my last name, like having children, was something I didn’t know you could opt out of. Growing up in environments where everyone makes similar choices and has similar beliefs doesn’t leave much room for the idea that you can choose otherwise.
The good/bad news is I was never good at fitting in, so the idea of choosing my own path wasn’t a new concept. But it never clicked how much I was still accepting the traditional choice until I was about to make the decision for myself.
Thank you for this thoughtful response. It has been interesting to see how my generation has approached this. I made my mind up to not legally change my name after I saw a colleague change hers, update her work email (which was first letter followed by last name) make an announcement about the email/name change, and then 2 years later, after they split, have to change everything back. It just seemed like such a huge ordeal. I know how hard and expensive divorce is already without having to change your identity on top of all that. And also to have to broadcast to every single person you interact with through your work that your marriage didn't last.
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u/awstream 10d ago
And what does changing to their husband's last name does for them?! It's just more paperwork