Filed under: News, Politics, Race and Civil Rights
Texas, the home of Sheila Jackson-Lee, George W. Bush and Michael Irvin, never fails to disappoint. Silly me, I thought that all Americans older than the age of 18 had the right to vote.
However, those wacky Texan good ole boys feel that the right to vote is being abused, and by God, they are going to nip this issue right in the bud.
Republican legislators in the Texas House have once again proved they are the bastion of backward thinking by voting 101-48 late Wednesday for a bill requiring voters to show photo ID at the polls.
Republicans have long-sought to enact this legislation, saying that their constituents had demanded this change to ensure election integrity. Republican governor Rick Perry declared the bill one of several emergency items on the agenda. Democrats in the House voted unanimously against the bill, saying the measure would disenfranchise poor and minority voters and is targeting a problem -- in-person voter fraud -- that doesn't even exist.
Voter fraud is a common refrain for Republicans who act as though this is a huge problem in our country. The reality is that in-person voter fraud has never been a problem in this country. In fact, between 2002 and 2005, when hundreds of millions of people voted, the Justice Department charged a whopping 95 people with election fraud.
Royal Masset, former political director of the Republican Party of Texas, calls the Republicans' "religious" belief in voter fraud a lie:
"It's not true. It does not exist."
Rep. Marc Veasey, D-Fort Worth, said the bill would effectively return Texas to the days of Jim Crow:
"I think it's horrible," Veasey said. "I think it discriminates against people. I think we'll look back in shame."
One may think that such laws are innocuous. What's the big deal about requiring ID to be shown at the polls? Well, on the surface, nothing; however, voter ID laws disproportionately impact minority, student and immigrant voters and reduce overall voter registration and turnout among those groups.
The elderly, who are the least likely to have a driver's license or find their birth certificate, would have to pay a fee to order a birth certificate and then go down to city hall to apply for an ID card and pose for a picture.
Many low-income citizens who do not have a government-issued ID or have different addresses from their ID card will have to re-apply in order to vote. I feel bad for the granddad who moved to Texas to retire but still has his New York ID and won't be able to vote until he gets a new ID card.
This may seem like a small inconvenience to some, but when you're elderly and/or poor, don't have transportation or don't have a great grasp of the English language, it's just enough hassle to make you stay home on election day.
The legislation also impacts college students by requiring a photo ID issued by the government. That excludes students from using student IDs and voting from their campus unless they choose to vote by absentee ballot.
Republicans are quick to point to the ACORN voting-registration scandal as evidence that voter fraud is a pervasive problem. Voter registration fraud, though, which usually consists of registering lots of people who don't exist for money, generally, does not result in in-person voting fraud and, thus, does not have any impact on the outcome of elections.
In other words, there are not a lot of people named "Mickey Mouse," "Biggie Smalls" or "Ben Dover" who are fraudulently casting ballots in elections.
Veasey attempted to add a Democratic amendment that would allow voters without valid identification to sign an affidavit swearing to their identity, making fraudulent voters liable for a second-degree felony. House Republicans rejected it, along with an amendment allowing an exemption for voters who are older than the age of 70.
Rep. Jose Aliseda, R-Beeville, a strong proponent of the bill, said, "I've had many people tell me that they don't believe their vote will count because of the fraud that exists in South Texas."
So let me get this straight, instead of Rep. Aliseda educating uninformed voters that voter fraud is actually quite rare, he passes legislation to remedy a problem that does not exist.
The legislation still has to pass both Texas houses, and if the Republicans succeed, the bill will come into effect just in time for the 2012 elections.
How convenient.
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