Comments on: Date of Birth: Redacted http://PassOpenRecords.Org/2008/01/09/date-of-birth-redacted/ A Movement to Lift the Lid on Pennsylvania Government Sat, 22 Nov 2008 10:39:22 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.3.2 By: Ernie Schreiber http://PassOpenRecords.Org/2008/01/09/date-of-birth-redacted/#comment-1577 Ernie Schreiber Wed, 09 Jan 2008 20:24:35 +0000 http://PassOpenRecords.Org/2008/01/09/date-of-birth-redacted/#comment-1577 The most compelling reason to keep dates of birth in the public domain is that they are necessary to distinguish among people of the same name. They are critical for precisely identifying voters, loan recipients, social service benefit recipients, criminals, and many others. How better to distinguish "Robert Thompson" who is a crook from "Robert Thompson" the honored veteran from "Robert Thompson" a salesman on the county voter rolls? Sure, middle initials may help identify individuals. And addresses often pinpoint a person. But nowadays, people move so often, within the same city or far afield, that addresses alone often are not sufficient to conclusively identify an individual. We all like to think that we are unique. That may be. But our names are not nearly as distinctive as we lead ourselves to believe. The are 80 "Robert Thompsons" in the Philadelphia metropolitan area. There are 246 in Pennsylvania. In the U.S., there are are 53 Bill or William DeWeeses. There are more than 300 Sam Smiths. There are 12 Dominic Pileggis. To thwart voter fraud, to correctly identify borrowers, to accurately identify criminals (separating them from law-abiding citizens of the same name) -- in other words, to precisely identify individuals for a multitude of reasons -- dates of birth are essential. Ernie Schreiber, Lancaster, Pa. (Not the Ernie Schreiber in Los Angeles, CA; Sun City, FL; Somerville, MASS; Glen Burnie, MD; Bellevue, NE; Marlton, NJ; Orient, OH; Justin, TX; Lake Jackson, TX, or Wausau, WI. ) (And not the detective in Canada, either.) The most compelling reason to keep dates of birth in the public domain is that they are necessary to distinguish among people of the same name.

They are critical for precisely identifying voters, loan recipients, social service benefit recipients, criminals, and many others.

How better to distinguish “Robert Thompson” who is a crook from “Robert Thompson” the honored veteran from “Robert Thompson” a salesman on the county voter rolls?

Sure, middle initials may help identify individuals. And addresses often pinpoint a person. But nowadays, people move so often, within the same city or far afield, that addresses alone often are not sufficient to conclusively identify an individual.

We all like to think that we are unique. That may be. But our names are not nearly as distinctive as we lead ourselves to believe.

The are 80 “Robert Thompsons” in the Philadelphia metropolitan area. There are 246 in Pennsylvania.

In the U.S., there are are 53 Bill or William DeWeeses. There are more than 300 Sam Smiths. There are 12 Dominic Pileggis.

To thwart voter fraud, to correctly identify borrowers, to accurately identify criminals (separating them from law-abiding citizens of the same name) — in other words, to precisely identify individuals for a multitude of reasons — dates of birth are essential.

Ernie Schreiber, Lancaster, Pa.
(Not the Ernie Schreiber in Los Angeles, CA; Sun City, FL; Somerville, MASS; Glen Burnie, MD; Bellevue, NE; Marlton, NJ; Orient, OH; Justin, TX; Lake Jackson, TX, or Wausau, WI. ) (And not the detective in Canada, either.)

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