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