Editorial: Face it: Texas doesn’t need voter ID law

[tbyg52]

The U.S. Supreme Court last week upheld the constitutionality of voter identification laws, and Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst has said he will try once more to pass such a law when the Legislature meets next year. But Texas doesn’t need to beef up its existing voter ID law.

Voter ID laws sound reasonable, which is one reason the court upheld them on a 6-3 ruling. Their stated purpose is to ensure that each person who votes is eligible by requiring a voter to present some government-issued identification.

Texas already requires voters to present some identification at the polls - a voter registration card, for example, or a utility bill. About half of the states require no identification at all, just a signature.

But last year Republicans pushed through the Texas House and into the Senate a bill that would require a voter to present identification with his or her photograph on it, such as a driver’s license, a passport or a military ID card. In the Senate, Democrats put up a dramatic fight and blocked it on a procedural vote.

More:
http://www.statesman.com/blogs/content/shared-gen/blogs/austin/editorial/entries/2008/05/03/face_it_texas_doesnt_need_vote.html

[sonias]

1. Thanks for the link tbyg52

I've been buried in so much campaign work I haven't had a chance to catch up on my reading. That one is a keeper. But you can count on the repukes trying to shove that bill through our Texas Legislature again in 2009.

Time to fire up that YouTube with Debbie Riddle voting multiple times at the Lege!

Sonia