[EL] Texas Voter ID Law

[Vince Leibowitz]

I am concerned, from the below comments, that some folks may get the wrong idea about what the reality is in Texas. Please see below.  



On May 28, 2011, at 11:00 AM, Jon Roland <jon.roland at constitution.org> wrote:

> Actually, its not that much of a problem, because in Texas the DPS stations a trooper in each county courthouse on a regular schedule to issue drivers licenses, and now presumably also the free voter IDs, and they are also often available on a schedule in towns other than the county seats, for geographically large counties like Presidio. It is not uncommon for the trooper to make house calls to serve the elderly and disabled, as election registrars have long done to issue voter registration cards. The equipment needed is easily ported in a patrol car, and the troopers visit most towns anyway.

I've never been aware of licenses or photo IDs being available in towns without DPS offices. Also, the offices of DPS are not in county courthouses in all (or most) instances. The county seat, perhaps, but not in the courthouse. DPS has freestanding offices in most places. Further, not every office is open every day. In my home county, it is only open a couple of times a week--and on a varying schedule at that. And they don't all provide language services. 

I'd also like to see evidence of troopers making house calls to provide people with photo ID. I've never heard of this, and have a father who is disabled. Further, the troopers aren't the ones that actually take the photos and verify documents at most DPS offices--it is clerks or other employees as the troopers are the ones out presumably doing law enforcement activities. Also, I'd dispute the contention that the equipment is easily portabilized, since printers and secure access to the state database is required. 

I'm also unaware of any county election officials who make house calls in Texas. Perhaps volunteer citizens who are sworn as volunteer deputy registrars on their own or for a party or campaign, but not county officials. 

This IS a severe problem in Texas. Just because the ID may be free doesn't make it easily accessible. Further, for native Texans born before a certain year (which presently escapes me) they have to obtain their birth certificate from the county they were born in because they aren't in tue statewide database available at most vital county clerk's offices or health departments. This in and of itself is a significant barrier in some cases. 

For others,  they may have to obtain citizenship documents or birth certificates from other states--at great difficulty and expense. I understand some of the Katrina evacuees that now populate Texas may be from counties in LA where those records may no longer exist. 


> 
> The problem is that it gives too much discretion to the troopers, who are prone to issue IDs to people who seem like they are okay, even if they can't prove their identity (notably nuns and many rural people who have never been involved in the identification systems).

The statute states what identification is acceptable. If you have ever been to a Texas driver license office, you know they are typically anything but lenient. For my fiencee to have her married name removed from her driver's license, they required her long-form Louisiana birth certificate and a certified copy of the divorce decree. 



> Most of them will accept the same evidence that have traditionally been presented to election judges, so it will just be "garbage in garbage out".

Where are you getting this information? As someone intimately familiar with the situation in Texas, I'm a little taken aback at the disinformation you are providing. Texas DPS isn't lenient on ID requirements. The last time I went in to get a new license after having had my wallet stolen, I saw more than half a dozen people turned away in my hour wait for improper ID--kids seeking permits, people renewing, out of state transfers, etc. This is not some easy process in Texas where anyone can walk in off the street with whatever ID they can scrounge up and get an ID. I encourage you to go to Texas Legislature Online and watch the committee testimony on this bill. 



> A lot of people will get IDs who are not qualified to vote, and make the situation worse, because people will tend to accept the IDs as proof of citizenship when they are nothing of the kind. It is likely to provide a cover for employers who want to hire illegals, because they can point to the ID as proof of eligibility. 
> 
There is no evidence that this will take place. The requirements aren't lenient at all. 

> So this legislation is really just a sop for its conservative backers, because it won't prevent the "wrong people" from voting (if they ever did), but will let them hire illegals with impunity.
> 
> Remember my rule: "Never ask an official to do something for you without providing the exact language. That is asking him to do something to you, not for you."
> 
> And as an old cynical friend from San Antonio, Jesse Cuellar, once put it, "Nothing gets done in politics unless one first establishes a channel of corruption."
> 
> On 05/28/2011 12:02 AM, Vince Leibowitz wrote:
>> 
>> “I think the key in Texas is the distance involved,” Tanner said.
> 
> 
> -- Jon
> 
> ----------------------------------------------------------
> Constitution Society               http://constitution.org
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> Austin, TX 78757 512/299-5001  jon.roland at constitution.org
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