‘States don’t issue SSNs.’
Ok fine, the SS offices in each state have a handful of prefixes they’re allowed to use.
If a CT resident walks into a SS office in HARTFORD CT, he would get issued an SSN which starts with one of the prefixes allocated to CT.
Example = prefix ‘042’ for CT.
That was the law until it was mysteriously changed in 2009 or 2011 to randomize/mix the prefixes among state SSN offices.
Go ahead and do a web search. You’d find a chart of 3-digit SSN codes by State.
Example = prefix ‘042’ for CT.
SSNs back then were issued from a central office (Baltimore, if memory serves). They used the applicant's zip code to pick a number from the appropriate geographic range. Obama's zip code was 96826. All they would have had to do to erroneously assign him a Connecticut-range SSN would have been to mis-key a zero for the initial nine. 06826 turns out to be an invalid zip code, but the lookup only used the first three of the zip, and 068 falls in Connecticut.
Never assume a conspiracy when stupidity will suffice.