Thread: Voter ID issue stirs up Texas Legislature

Voter ID issue stirs up Texas Legislature
By Brandi Grissom / Austin Bureau
Posted: 05/02/2009 12:00:00 AM MDT

AUSTIN -- State lawmakers are getting ready for another political battle over whether voters should have to show photo identification to cast a ballot, perhaps the most contentious partisan fight in the Capitol this year.

"This is a battle cry by the different parties," said state Rep. Joe Pickett, D-El Paso.

Republicans won the partisan skirmish in the Texas Senate and approved a measure in March that would require voters to present photo IDs. Now, the Texas House, which is more closely divided between Republicans and Democrats, is trying to pass a version.

The controversy boils down to an ideological battle.

Republicans say to ensure the integrity of the ballot box and prevent undocumented immigrants from voting illegally, Texas needs to require voters to prove they are who they claim to be.

Democrats say there is no voter-impersonation problem in Texas and requiring photo ID would shut out thousands of mostly elderly, minority and disabled Texans who don't have access to those kinds of documents.

Caught in the middle is state Rep. Todd Smith, R-Euless, chairman of the House Elections Committee and author of the House voter ID bill. Smith is working to write a measure that can win support from enough members of both parties to make it out of the House.

Smith this week circulated in the House a compromise version of the voter identification bill.

It would phase in the new requirements over two election cycles, would allow voters to show two non-photo identifying documents if they did not have one with a photo and would require the state to spend $7.5 million on voter registration efforts before the rules were implemented.
But Smith's compromise seemed to please neither side.

A majority of the House Republicans, 71 of 76, signed a pledge to vote only for stricter requirements.

"We are all strongly encouraging Chairman Todd Smith and the other Representatives on the Elections Committee to present a bill which protects the integrity of the electoral process, is fully implemented at the next possible uniform election date and ensures a reasonable period of advanced registration to allow voter registrars the time to protect the integrity of the registration process as well," the group wrote.

A coalition of advocacy groups said the compromise wouldn't do enough to minimize negative effects on Texas voters.

"It does not prevent the wrongful exclusion of eligible voters from the process nor provide for enduring improvements to voter registration access," wrote the group, which included the American Civil Liberties Union of Texas and the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund.

El Paso Democratic state Reps. Joe Moody and Pickett said they had seen no evidence that voter impersonation was occurring on a large enough scale to warrant stricter identification requirements.

"If it's an attempt to merely suppress the vote, then it's something that I cannot support," Moody said.

Smith said Friday that he was still working with members of the Elections Committee to develop a bill that would win the needed support. He disputed reports that he might adopt a stricter version of the measure to please fellow Republicans.

Smith said he liked the compromise proposal better than bills that would implement photo-only requirements without measures to also expand access to the polls. Those bills, he said, were more about making a political statement.

Carol Cassady, who lives in West El Paso, said she wanted lawmakers to implement stricter voter identification rules as soon as possible.

"We have how many illegals living within the United States?" she asked. "Show me your voter ID, heck. I want fingerprints."

http://www.elpasotimes.com/ci_12275880?source=rss

Democrats say there is no voter-impersonation problem in Texas and requiring photo ID would shut out thousands of mostly elderly, minority and disabled Texans who don't have access to those kinds of documents.

Come on, now - do you think illegals will not try to vote? - Let's trust the Taliban with life and limb, too.

This is such a no brainer .
Just how many America citizens are there that don't have legal photo I.D . Unless they live in a " third world mentality " or are in a coma or the likes . This is just advocating voter fraud , plain and simple .
My opinion .

Sir,
The argument re: seniors and the heavy burden of obtaining a valid photo ID is spurious at best. If ACORN can get illegal people registered as voters, why can't the GOP offer to ensure that seniors have the required IDs??? I am a 76 year old retired citizen living on Social Security and a modest fixed pension. I will gladly send the money to pay for registering one or two senior citizens in your state to have their photos taken and be registered.

Those who use the seniors as an excuse are liars--the time for niceties is long past- they are liars who are willing to allow our country to become a third world sewer so they can remain in power.

If I lived in Texas, I would offer to drive the seniors to any local location to obtain their photo IDs. If your Texas GOP is truly interested in maintaining a true America, they should have no problem getting thousands of other conservative voters to assist the seniors.

Lord, wouldn't that prick the Democrats' balloon???

xxxx xxxxxxx
Acworth Ga

P.S. Any elected official of any party who hides behind the spurious claim of the extreme difficulty for seniors in obtaining a photo ID is not a patriot and indeed may be a traitor. They should be forced to repeat their oath of office, publicly, every year.

I sent my address and telephone number. I live in Georgia. I will do the same here. It's all corruption and BS. These officials who fight voter ID need to be ousted.

Yea, passing this bill would be devastating for Democrats who depend o the illegal alien and straw man votes created by Acorn.

It is so rediculous to think anyone can not afford or find a way to get to the DMV and get a picture ID, everyone should carry one anyway, just to prove you are who you say you are. If you are legal it should not be a problem...

It is all about the illegal vote!!What will ACORN do????

A police officer asked for my son and his friend's IDs while walking down the street some fifteen years ago. So is it appropriate to target Americans but not illegals for an ID.

Everyone should always carry an IDs, even if I go to the end of the road I am trained to have ID. ID will help contact your family quicker in case of an accident. And an ID can keep the police from taking you to jail.

My 96 year old Aunt had a "Non-driving" license with her photo on it...
So...where is the problem???????????

Voter ID effort stalled in Texas House
By Brandi Grissom / Austin Bureau
Posted: 05/06/2009 05:50:45 PM MDT


AUSTIN - GOP lawmakers unwilling to compromise on strict voter identification requirements they have made a priority at the Capitol may be the very ones who kill the effort in the Texas House, state Rep. Todd Smith, R-Euless, said Wednesday.
"If the far right is unwilling to accommodate on this legislation to any extent, then they do have the power to succeed in killing voter ID, and I will certainly allow them to do so," Smith said.

For weeks, Smith has been working on a bill that would balance the demands of Democrats and of his own party to develop a compromise measure that would require photo ID at the polls.

Voter photo identification is perhaps the most combustible partisan issue at the Capitol this year.

Republicans say photo ID is necessary to ensure integrity at the ballot box and prevent undocumented immigrants from voting illegally.

Democrats say there is no voter impersonation problem and requiring photo ID would disenfranchise many elderly, minority and disabled Texans who don't have access to those kinds of documents. They argue the measure is an effort to prevent many Democrat voters from going to the polls.

Wednesday, Smith distributed the latest in a series of draft proposals, hoping to please GOP legislators' calls for stricter identification requirements while also providing additional money for voter registration efforts Democrats want.

The latest draft was stricter than previous versions, which conservative Republicans had dismissed as too lenient.

The bill would require voters to show photo identification or else cast a provisional ballot. Earlier versions would have allowed voters to also cast ballots with two forms of non-photo identification.

Wednesday's draft would also phase-in the new requirements by 2011 instead of 2013.

The measure still wasn't strict enough for some of the most conservative members of the House Elections Committee. The committee must still approve the bill before it can come to the full House for a vote.

State Rep. Betty Brown, R-Terrell, said she could not vote for the latest draft. She wanted new identification requirements implemented immediately, and other portions of the bill, she said, were also problematic.

"We're still working and hopefully we'll come up with something we can all agree on," Brown said.

Smith expressed frustration that yet another of his attempts at compromise had met with pushback, especially from the conservative wing of the Republican Party.

If a voter ID measure is to pass the closely divided House - there are 76 Republicans and 74 Democrats - Smith said there must be compromise from both sides.

The strict photo ID-only measure that some Republicans want might be approved in the House Elections Committee, but he said it would not pass the full House.

"If the most right-wing member of my party takes the position the only way they will vote for it is if they get their version, then they will probably succeed in killing it," Smith said.

The new version brought calls from House Democrats for another public hearing on the measure.

"This is only prudent, given the Voting Rights Act and the impact of this bill on every citizen in Texas," 33 Democratic chairmen and vice chairmen, including state Rep. Joe Pickett, D-El Paso, wrote in a memo to Smith and House Speaker Joe Straus.

The memo came after a meeting between House Democrats and Straus in which party leaders urged the newly elected Speaker not to allow voter ID to become a divisive issue on the House floor.

Earlier this year, the issue sparked a bitter fight in the Senate, where Republicans passed a voter ID bill on strictly partisan lines.

State Rep. Norma Chavez, D-El Paso, said she was worried the issue would explode on the House floor.

"This is the line in the sand," she said.

http://www.elpasotimes.com/newupdated/ci_12310340

I think the had tried to give exemptions to individuals 70 and older and those who might have some religious issues with getting a state approved ID. But of course this is not good enough for the Democrats. They won''t be happy until illegal aliens are given permission to vote.

It really seems to make a lot of sense to ask people to prove who they are when they cast a vote. But I guess that kind of reasoning has no place in America any longer.