Passage of voter ID bill stirs strong reaction, pro and con
The passage of the hot-button voter identification legislation in the Texas House on Monday stirred up strong feelings not only in Austin, but also in the South Plains.
The Texas House passed the bill, 98-46, that would require registered voters to show valid photo identification before casting their ballots.
Gov. Rick Perry’s signature will mark a victory for Republicans on an issue that has split along partisan lines for years.
The measure requires voters to present a valid state or federal photo. A driver’s license, personal card, military, passport or concealed-handgun permit would be accepted.
The bill that Perry called an “emergency” item for this legislative session divided the Legislature along party lines. Republicans argued the legislation would prevent voter fraud while Democrats cited concerns for the elderly, minority and poor populations who may not have the means to obtain a photo.
“I don’t think it’s a concern,” said Robert Halsell of Seminole. “It’s proper (to give) identification to prove that you are an American citizen.”
Victor and Veronica Rosas of New Mexico say having a driver’s license to vote would be as simple as using their licenses to purchase cigarettes3 or alcohol.
“You want to make sure it’s an honest election,” said Darian Comte of Lubbock. “If you’re of a working age, you should have one. Why wouldn’t you?”
This debate goes beyond party divisions — it “targets the Hispanic community,” said Gilbert Flores, Lubbock County commissioner for Precinct 3.
“(The bill) has a racial tone to it, a discriminating tone,” he said. “The goal is to weaken and deter the Hispanic vote.”
He said the voter ID bill denies a person’s right to vote, targets immigrants and quells the voice of a community that has a low voter turnout but a growing presence in the state.
The elderly and the poor in rural towns who do not have driver’s licenses will have to come to the bigger cities to get photos, he said, and if they do not have one at the polls, will we deny them their right to vote?
Olga Riojas Aguero, president of the Lubbock Tejano Democrats, expressed similar sentiments but focused on the positive impacts the bill could make.
“I see it as an encouragement, as something that we all needed to get out the vote in the Hispanic community,” she said. “We have the numbers. We have to work those numbers.”
She hoped to educate Hispanic voters through her new grass-roots organization and emphasize to them the importance of their vote.
Flores and Mark Heinrich, county commissioner for Precinct 2, also listed financial concerns regarding the costs the county and taxpayers would have in order to implement photo identification at polling places.
It is too early to tell how much more money it will cost the county to conduct elections, Heinrich said. It depends on the changes the county would have to make.
He agreed the bill could inconvenience some of the voting population, which could be a small discouragement to those voters, but also saw value in having a voter fraud deterrent.
Republicans pushed a voter bill through the Senate in 2009, but it stalled in the House in the final weeks of that session. Senate Republicans again got the bill through that chamber in January.
The Senate and House had already approved similar versions of the bill and spent the last month working out a compromise on minor provisions. The last version approved by the Senate last week and the House on Monday allows the state to issue free IDs to be used specifically for voting if someone does not have another acceptable form of identification.