I had no idea that there is a problem in the south with older people not having birth records - but there must be some way for them to get ID. If there ever was a record of birth, you can get it for
$15 without prior ID, in Alabama, as an example. If there's absolutely no way for these people to get Photo ID's, then yes - that's a real problem, but one that needs to be addressed outside the scope of voting rights. If my house burned down and I had absolutely no proof of who I was left anywhere, there's still means and methods to
rebuild the trail of ID.
As a vehicle-less and poor (working one part time job) teenager living in an urban area, one of my first goals when I left home was to get a State ID (not even a driver's license). I had a checking account where my $5/hr wage was deposited weekly by hand, but could have traded $15 with a friend who had one for a check that I could mail in. I didn't think it was a particularly onerous challenge, and despite the fact that I didn't drink or smoke, it seemed like a really good thing to invest my time in getting. If I had to schedule a day off work to get my ID, I would have done it. It only needs to be renewed once every few years. I don't think they make this process any harder based on skin color. We're talking about a single day of effort to maintain this every few years at most. I can't imagine a life so hard that you can't spend a couple hours standing in line at the DMV (where they issue State Photo ID's, not just driver's licenses) once every 6 years.
It sounds like there are two sides to the problem - one side being people who can't be bothered to get an ID, and the other side being lawmakers willing to exploit that.