Posted on 05/17/2011 10:27:16 AM PDT by BradtotheBone
AUSTIN, Texas — The Texas House passed hotly debated legislation Monday requiring voters to show photo identification before casting ballots, sending to Gov. Rick Perry's desk a measure he declared an "emergency" item for the legislative session.
The 98-46 vote adhered to party lines, with Republicans largely saying the measure is necessary to prevent voter fraud and Democrats countering that it could make it harder for the state's poor and minority voters to go to the polls.
Perry's signature will mark a victory for Republicans on an issue that has split along partisan lines for years. It requires voters to present a valid state or federal photo ID. A driver's license, personal ID card, military ID, passport or concealed handgun permit would be accepted.
Republicans pushed a voter ID 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 back 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.
Those expected to require new IDs are mostly people who have religious objections to having their picture taken or have lost their IDs in a natural disaster. Voters without IDs could cast provisional ballots but would have to show identification within six days to have their votes counted.
The proposal also makes illegal voting a second-degree felony punishable by two to 20 years in prison, and up to $10,000 in fines, rather than the current third-degree felony.
(Excerpt) Read more at chron.com ...
The proposal also makes illegal voting a second-degree felony punishable by two to 20 years in prison, and up to $10,000 in fines, rather than the current third-degree felony.
Now if this provision will be enforced once it goes into effect then we maybe getting much closer to halting illegal voting.
When is he expected to sign it?
Simple solution: Make the so-called ‘poor’ people show a receipt for any expenses related to getting a valid identification and a tax return showing them to be at or below 125% of the poverty level and they’ll qualify to get the costs reimbursed.
What I would like to know is how is this going to affect absentee voting? This is where the majority of voter fraud occurs. (Yes, I live in Texas).
There should be about 6-7 large signs with this in RED posted around each polling location for 5 days PRIOR to all voting days. It would give the communists a bit of time to think about what will happen if they get caught.
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Funny thing, when they fought our (Indiana) voter ID law in court, they could nobody that was actually disenfranchised. The one example they tried to used ended up that she wasn’t supposed to vote in Indiana since she was registered in Florida.
sorry, “They could nobody” should be “They could find nobody”
This is great; but what about the taxes they are trying pass behind our backs?
What I would like to know is how is this going to affect absentee voting?
Good question. But ‘early voting by mail’ is harder to qualify for with the use of ‘early voting in person’ that is in place now. Not to say it doesn’t happen but it’s harder and with the new and stronger voter fraud addition the penalty for being caught is more harsh.
Austin no doubt.
I’m all for moving the Capital back to Washington-on-the-Brazos and nuking Austin.
What always puzzles me, the dems scream about “democracy, every vote count” when they cheat vote like hell which is certainly not democracy by any stretch of the imagination. Mikey Savage is right, liberalism is a mental disorder.
What ‘religious objections” to having your photo taken?
This is America.....
You get your photo taken for the Little League...
For a class picture from Kindergarten thru high school.
For communion.
For your birthday or Christmas.
For Bar Mitzvah or Bat Mitzvah
For a driver’s license
For a college ID to register, buy books, etc.
There is very little one can do in this country in 2011 without some kind of photo ID.
You cannot cash a check.
You cannot board an airplane.
You cannot open a bank account.
You cannot enroll in school or college.
The argument about the ‘poor’ & others not being able to get ID is just plain smoke & mirrors.
Hopefully more states will follow the lead of Texas.
The only way Acorn & voter fraud desired by the Democrats can be put out of business is by some sort of ID.
I posted about that on another thread. You must be talking about snowbirds voting absentee in their home state and then again here. I know someone who bragged about that.
Actually, I am thinking about the handicapped and senior citizens who no longer drive, and find it difficult to get to the polls. It is not hard to vote by mail in Texas, just time consuming.
We had some volunteers asking the handicapped and senior citizens in our precinct if they needed transportation on election days. My problem with the election last Nov is that Donna Howard (Ms frizzie head) had many absentee ballots disqualified. Those were mostly from military overseas on deployment, and the ones I know, did NOT vote for her. She won by 12 or 15 votes.
I looked a bit but couldn’t find the numbers of mail votes in Texas either locally or statewide. I thought that they were on some of the return info but I didn’t really look that hard.
With early voting like it is and you have mobile people they can be organized and transported for voting purposes. I know some churches do this on a Sunday afternoon after services where they all pool together and go to the early voting polls. Also some groups organize transportation for people in nursing/retirement centers, etc, pick them up take them to the polls, let them vote and maybe make a shopping stop on the way back to their domicles. In person early voting has changed voting somewhat.
But your question regrading ‘mail ballots’ is valid regarding the photo requirement. I guess they could be required to attach a copy of their photo ID to the mail in ballot. I’ve not read the requirements as spelled out in the law.
One of the best ways to counter voter fraud including absentee ballots is by verifying the Voter Roll long before the election.
NOW is the time to begin scrubbing the Voter Roll. In every precinct the Republicans need to attempt contact with every single voter. The discrepancies will often be obvious.
True the Vote in Houston found homes in Rep. Lee’s district where up to 20 people were registered in a tiny, one bedroom house. They knocked on the door and asked where all the voters were.
Contacting every voter and having a file on them will also set up the all-important Ground Game. The Republicans should set a goal of making sure that every Republican has an up-to-date Voter Registration Card with the correct address, age, etc. Then they need to get every Republican to VOTE EARLY.
The dims will attempt fraud, but there are so many Republicans that we often overwhelm their efforts.
Finally, we must have Republican election officials and Poll Watchers in every precinct as well as in every Early Voting location. No laws, including Voter ID, will be enforced if there are no Republicans to call the Sec of State when there is a violation.
Good points, good strategy.
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