An amendment was made to the city of Ann Arbor’s non-discrimination ordinance. The city council voted unanimously to add valid forms of government-issued IDs to the list.
Retailers and other service providers are no longer allowed to discriminate against people who have a valid form of ID. This includes IDs that are issued by Washtenaw County. This issue had been brought to the attention of the city’s human rights commissionover the years.
Ayesha Ghazi Edwin is a city council member representing the Third Ward.
“An ID helps you participate in school activities with your children. Helps you taking nursing home services, rehabilitation services, housing assistance, food assistance, so it’s a variety of things.”
Ghazi Edwin said older adults and members of the undocumented community are the most impacted by this type of discrimination. She adds studies also show people of color are more likely to have IDs rejected than whites with the same ID.
You can find information on applying for a Washtenaw County ID HERE.
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