Thousands of Michigan residents received driver’s licenses and state IDs bearing the photo of a random man, a mistake officials attributed to a printing error. The misprinted cards showed a smiling Black man in the lower-right-hand corner with a birth date of Jan. 12, 1967. Where the holder’s name should appear, the back instead read “last name,” “first name” and “middle,” according to WDIV.
Another said: “At first, I really didn’t think. I’m like, OK, maybe they’re putting the Secretary of State on the licenses. But then I’m like, girl, the secretary of state is not a Black man.” About 8,200 people across Michigan received the faulty cards after renewing or applying for an enhanced driver’s license or state ID, the Secretary of State’s office said in a September 5 news release.
Officials traced the error to an August 26 printing mishap by their vendor, Idemia. Michigan has already mailed corrected cards; recipients of the misprinted versions do not need to reapply. Affected residents can print a temporary ID online or at any secretary of state office, officials said.
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