Thread: TX-Compromise, two nonphoto IDs to replace one photo ID

Compromise would allow two nonphoto IDs to replace one photo ID for voting

12:00 AM CDT on Thursday, April 30, 2009
By EMILY RAMSHAW
eramshaw@dallasnews.com

AUSTIN – The voter identification bill that's likely to reach the House floor would allow Texans to cast ballots if they can show two forms of nonphoto ID, despite pressure from many Republicans to require picture IDs for all voters.

Rep. Todd Smith's compromise bill – designed to draw support across party lines – also calls for increased funding for voter registration, greater allowance of provisional ballots and a four-year transition into the new voter-identification system.

The bill may be considered in the House Elections Committee by this weekend and could come up in the House as early as next week.

Republicans, who generally support tougher identification standards, acknowledge there's not much evidence of voter impersonation in Texas. But they say that's because such cases are hard to prosecute.

Democrats, meanwhile, have long felt the proposal is partisan – an effort by the GOP to discourage voting by seniors, the disabled, the poor and other groups that tend to vote Democratic.

Smith's legislation is similar to the voter ID bill that passed the Senate in March, which would allow voters to produce two nonphoto IDs in lieu of a photo ID. One key difference: In Smith's bill, the new rules take effect in January 2013, while the bill passed by the GOP-dominated Senate requires them next year.

But Smith's bill is less stringent than the version the House Republican Caucus has demanded. Tuesday, 51 House Republicans said any voter ID bill considered in the House must require valid photo ID of all voters. Smith, R-Euless, did not sign the letter.

Rep. Larry Taylor, chairman of the House Republican Caucus, said Wednesday that the compromise language is "not our No. 1 preference."

"But I don't think it's a deal-breaker," he said. "In the course of a piece of legislation, you have to be willing to work with your colleagues. ... This still goes a long way."

Rep. Rafael Anchia, D-Dallas, who has been working closely with Smith on the compromise legislation, said toughening up voter requirements will naturally lead to some disenfranchisement. He said the key is to offset that with increased access. Smith's bill provides free identification for people who need it to vote and an additional $7.5 million over the next biennium for voter registration efforts in Texas.

Smith is "trying to mitigate the potential for disenfranchisement," Anchia said. "He's been very collaborative and has taken a more holistic approach."

http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent ... 98474.html

Texas House moves toward likely confrontation over voter ID law
By DAVE MONTGOMERYdmontgomery@star-telegram.com



AUSTIN – The House of Representatives moved closer toward a likely confrontation over voter identification legislation on Wednesday as House Elections Committee Chairman Todd Smith unveiled a plan that he said strikes a balance between ballot box security and increased citizen access to the polls.

Smith, a Euless Republican, said his plan is a modified version of a Senate-passed bill that would require voters to present a photo identification or two alternate forms of ID in order to vote. But his bill, he said, has additional safeguards against voter fraud and would take steps to expand voter registration.

A likely vote by his committee later this week would send the bill to the House floor for a full-scale debate in the closing weeks of the legislative session. Smith circulated his plan to House members on Wednesday.

Many Republicans are pushing for a tougher law, similar to one in Indiana, that would strictly require a photo ID in order to vote. Smith said he is prepared to fight for his plan but added that if the choice is between an Indiana-style photo ID bill or nothing at all, he would vote for a photo ID bill.

"The reason I take that position," he said, "is it’s very clear that my constituents want something done on the security side of elections."

In what has become the most partisan issue of the 2009 Legislature, Republicans are insisting on toughened voter ID requirements to prevent fraud while Democrats say a new ID law would disenfranchise the poor, elderly and minorities.

Smith also signaled that he might be willing to make changes on a key feature in his bill that is widely opposed by members of his party: delaying the effect of the bill until after two election cycles. Smith said he believes the delay is necessary to educate voters about the change. But he said that provision could become a negotiating point in a House-Senate conference committee to iron out differences between the two chambers.

As currently drafted, the bill would not go into effect until Jan. 1, 2013. The first major statewide election to be held under the law would be in 2014.

Smith said he believes the delay would not only help educate voters but would also give the state added time to deal with likely lawsuits and a federal review required by the 1965 Voting Rights Act.

"I do strongly feel that there needs to be a transition," he said.


http://www.star-telegram.com/804/story/1347502.html

I don't think this bill will have any effect.Photo ID a must!

NO NO NO NO NO NO NO

You cannot tell if the voter is the person from a piece of paper, without a photo. The whole reason a photo was requested.

Anyone can get a Social Security Card at the Flea Market.

Dixie