Texas Voter ID Law Imperiled

S

Satchel

2,500+ Posts
As it should be:

The federal government will not preclear a photo voter identification law signed by Texas Gov. Rick Perry (R) because it would have a greater impact on Hispanic voters, a Justice Department official said in a letter to state authorities on Monday.

Hispanic registered voters in Texas were either 46.5 percent or 120 percent more likely than average voter to lack a form of photo ID, according to data the state submitted to DOJ. The first data set was sent in September and the second in January, though Texas has refused to tell federal authorities which they believe is more accurate. The first data set said that 6.3 percent of Hispanic registered voters lacked photo ID compared to 4.3 percent of the general pool of registered voters, while the second data set said 10.8 percent of Hispanic registered voters lacked ID compared to 4.9 percent of registered voters.

“In conclusion, the state has not met its burden of proving that, when compared to the benchmark, the proposed requirement will not have a retrogressive effect, or that any specific features of the proposed law will prevent or mitigate that retrogression,” DOJ Assistant Attorney General Thomas Perez wrote in a letter to state authorities. “Additionally, the state has failed to demonstrate why it could not meet its stated goals of ensuring electoral integrity and deterring ineligible voters from voting in a manner that would have avoided this retrogressive effect.”

Perez also wrote that Texas “has not provided an explanation” for the disparate results. “More significantly, it declined to offer an opinion on which of the two data sets is more accurate,” he wrote.
The Link
 
Tell the 6% or 10% of hispanic voters without an ID to do the same thing that every other voter can do and get an ID.

$16 is not to much to ask if you want to vote. (the card is free if $16 will break your budget.)

But we all know this isn't about a small fee for an ID card now is it?
 
Much like the Voter ID law, I think that showing proof of ID when using a credit card is discriminatory to thieves that can't prove that they are whom they stole the credit cards from.
 
There are currently eight states with photo voter ID laws containing specific criteria for what qualifies as “identification” for voting purposes. Some states require that identification be state-issued and only for the state a person is voting in; some prohibit college IDs; some demand that the full name and address on the card be current; while some require that an ID card has an expiration date.

Looking at those stipulations, it’s not hard to imagine how low-income citizens, African Americans, Latino Americans, college students, and elderly voters—groups the Brennan Center has identified as the most burdened by new voter laws—might get tangled up on voter day. The Center estimates that as many as 11 percent of eligible voters lack proper identification right now. For African Americans, it’s 25 percent—that’s 5.5 million voting-age black Americans who could get turned away at the polls for being undocumented and unphotographed.

Other groups like Native Americans, transgendered people, newly divorced, newly married couples or people who’ve recently lost their homes could all have information on their drivers licenses that reflect names, addresses and faces that aren’t current. The costs for these groups will be more than an inconvenience: fees for new birth and marriage certificates, hours lost waiting in lines for updated materials and transportation costs to handle it all.

How did we get to this point? Let’s just say the emergence of these laws are no coincidence. Thousands of Republicans from dozens of states didn’t all just wake up one day and decide we need an ID card to vote. And yet almost every voter ID law now in play or pending happened in the last four years—since Barack Obama ran for and became the nation’s first black president.

The Texas law is among the most onerous.
The Link
 
Satch, I can find no fault in the premise that voters should be able to provide proof of identity in order to vote. This would assure that all those entitled to vote, and only those entitled to vote, get to vote.

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One need only compare Texas' old requirements with those contained in the new law to understand the intention of the law/lawmakers will have the desired impact on the targeted voting blocs. Anytime unnecessary,unreasonable impediments to voting are introduced, democracy is threatened. There is absolutely nothing deficient in the old law:

Old law:

Voter registration certificate

Driver’s license
Department of Public Safety ID card
A form of ID containing the person’s photo that establishes the person’s identity
A birth certificate or other document confirming birth that is admissible in a court of law and establishes the person’s identity
U.S. citizenship papers
A U.S. passport
Official mail addressed to the person, by name, from a governmental entity
A copy of a current utility bill, bank statement, government check, paycheck, or other government document that shows the person’s name and address
Any other form of ID prescribed by the secretary of state

New law:

Driver's license
Election identification certificate
Dept. of Public Safety personal ID card
U.S. military ID
U.S. citizenship certificate
U.S. passport
License to carry a concealed handgun issued by the Dept. of Public Safety
All of the above must include a photo of the voter. With the exception of the certificate of citizenship, these forms of ID cannot be expired, or cannot have expired more than 60 days before the election.

The Link
 
I would hate for a voter to get "tangled up on voter day".

25% of voting age black voters, 5.5 million don't have an ID???

They have a form of ID to get their Lone Star card, but no ID to vote??

What a load of crap, they need to go to DPS and get an ID.
They had no problem completing voter registration, but they are now too incompetent to get an ID?? Maybe they get "all tangled up" telling the state who they are.
 
What I find particularly problematic is the way Texas appears to be responding to its requirement to educate citizens on the particulars of the new law. It is possible to have a valid photo ID and stil be prevented from voting if the address information is not updated. Nevermind that the ID is valid, the Texas law adds this unnecessary requirement because it has data that reveal what groups are most adversely impacted. What is especially deceitful is this the way Texas has hidden this requirement in the law's fine print.

There's a reason Texas is among the handful of states that must be precleared. We have history and all of it ain't pretty.
 
Just for giggles, I am going to register in two polling places and go see if I can vote accordingly. I am going to use my passport number for one and my DL for another and use my two homes as the addresses on the two voter registrations. I am pretty sure I can get away with it because I have early absentee at the Centralized location with my previous address even though I haven't lived there in 6 years.

Your Texas ID with your current address should be able to be swiped or entered and then it pulls up your ballot and you should be able to do that online from the comfort of your own home.
 
Wasting your time, folks. Anyone arguing against voter ID is either okay with Dem cheating or is too ******* stupid to argue with.
 
If it shows an incorrect address you can get a ticket for that...

And if the address is wrong, it could let you vote in a precinct you're not eligible to vote in...
 
Make all the crybaby excuses you want. Simple fact is that if you are too lazy to acquire a valid ID in this day and time, then perhaps you should not vote. Proof of who you are is not asking too much. But, as usual, certain segments of the population cry "foul" and lean upon the discrimination argument. What in the world makes hispanics less likely to possess a valid ID? Nothing. Their argument is BS and it's amazing that some fools buy into it. Responsible judges would never rule against voter ID requirements. So, shut up about discrimination and get off your lazy *** and become a productive member of society. If you're unwilling to do that, then suffer the consequences. The constant crybaby screams of racism and discrimination are old. If in fact hispanics are less likely to carry a legal form of identification, they need to ask themselves why. Get on board with the rest of us and stop whining. We are becoming a country that ignores common sense laws. It would be sad for our once-great nation to begin resembling our neighbor to the south.
 
This issue is not whether Hispanics can identify themselves. It's the narrowing of what forms of ID that State will accept that is problematic.

But you know that already/
 
I grew up in a small town between Waco and Bryan. There has been voter fraud going on for years in Robertson county. This is about absentee ballots not voter ID's. Seems that the local voters in the cemetery have the ability to come back to life and send in a ballot for the democratic candidate. Its happens every election so no one even thinks much about it anymore.
 
A "solution" to a non-existent "problem" by Republican-controlled states.

Even Fox News knows it's ********:

Fox link

How many more ways can you people come up with to alienate minorities, elderly, and poor people?
 
You have to have a photo ID to board a plane.

So, you're telling me that there are people who can vote but can't fly?

Or, said another way, the Federal government requires you to have a photo ID to board a plane, but will let you vote them in office without that same photo ID?

I'm all for voting.

Vote and vote often.
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I repeat my prior post - I can find no fault with a plan that requires voters to provide identification. We should ideally want to see that all those legally entitled to vote, and only those legally entitled to vote, get to vote. What is it among the leftists that they cannot agree with this simple principle?

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They can't win as many elections if only those who are legally allowed to vote are able to vote. Just ask "Landslide Lyndon."
 
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