Texas Senators Go for Controversial Voter ID

March 17, 2009

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The Texas Senate has given preliminary approval to a bill requiring voter ID at the polls, with a final vote set for Wednesday. The vote was along party lines: 19 Republicans for; 12 Democrats against.

The bill would require a voter to show a photo id or two other forms of identification in order to vote. Showing a voter registration card alone won’t do it. Republican Tommy Williams of the Woodlands offered affidavits claiming voter fraud year in a school board race in the Rio Grande Valley.

Williams: numerous forms of voter fraud, including voter impersonation. We as elected officials have a duty to protect the integrity and legitimacy of representative government.

But Austin Democrat Kirk Watson argued that the voter photo-ID issue is about politics, not voter fraud.

Watson: This bill targets far too many of us by declaring a crisis that doesn’t exist. This bill makes it harder for honest people to vote. It’s wrong.

Democrats say the targets are the most vulnerable voters – the poor and minorities, who typically vote Democratic. Republicans say the bill rightly requires voters to prove who they are before they vote.

The bill faces a tougher challenge in the House.