BY IRIS B. HOLTON
Sentinel City Editor
Mrs. Carolyn Caraway decided to be proactive and get all of the paperwork she would need to renew her driver’s license. She contacted the Georgia Department of Vital Statistics and obtained her birth certificate.
She went to renew her license on July 30th, armed with marriage licenses, divorce documents, her birth certificate, and all types of legal documents. She didn’t think she would have a problem.
After the person assisting her discovered that her name was misspelled on her marriage certificate, she instructed her to get it corrected and to return. And that is when the nightmare began.
Mrs. Caraway said she worked with a different individual the second time she went to the office. This time, they informed her that she would have to use the spelling of her name as it appeared on her birth certificate.
“My mother is still living and she has always spelled my name C-A-R-O-L-Y-N, not C-A-R-O-L-I-N-E. They issued me a temporary license even though my license in their system had my name spelled C-A-R-O-L-Y-N. Now, nothing matches. They told me I would have to get my name legally changed and that would cost about $600.00,” Mrs. Caraway said.
After hearing about Mrs. Caraway’s problem, the Sentinel contacted Doug Belden, who stated that the rules as set by Homeland Security and federal law mandates that the follow certain procedures.
When the Sentinel contacted the Florida Department of Motor Vehicles, a spokesperson for that office said that a group of individuals in that office handle such situations and instructed Mrs. Caraway to contact them.
When the Sentinel contacted the office of U. S. Congresswoman Kathy Castor, her assistant suggested that Mrs. Caraway amend her birth certificate so that it would reflect the correct spelling of her name.
Mrs. Caraway was especially concerned that the mistake would prevent her from voting. However, she said that the Supervisor of Elections Office had been contacted on her behalf and she would be allowed to vote in Primary Election while she took corrective measures with the spelling of her name.
