Senate Gives Initial Approval to Voter ID Law Changes

AUSTIN — The Texas Senate gave initial approval to a bill that would enact court-ordered changes to the state's voter ID law.The 2011 law requires Texans to show one of seven approved forms of identification to vote. Its proponents say it is meant to protect against voter fraud, but a federal appeals court ruled in 2015 that it discriminated against Latinos and other minorities. Appeals judges sent the matter back to a lower court to find ways to address its discriminatory effects.Sen. Joan Huffman, R-Houston, said Senate Bill 5 used the U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals ruling as a roadmap for changing the voter ID law. She said the proposal approved Monday was fair and balanced. The vote was 21-10, along party lines, with amendments offered by Democrats struck down. The bill still needs final approval from the Senate, which will probably happen Tuesday."Voting is one of our most sacred rights, and we are striving to keep the integrity of the vote as strong as we can in Texas and still be as cognizant as we can of the rights of citizens," she said. "I think we've found that balance."The bill would allow people who do not have a state-approved photo ID to vote if they provide supporting documents that list their name and address and prove that they could not reasonably have obtained the required forms. These supporting documents include bank statements, utility bills, government checks or work paychecks. People who used these documents to vote would be required to sign a "declaration of impediment" that would list the reason why they could not obtain a state-approved ID. Those reasons could include lack of transportation, a lack of birth certificate or other documents needed to get the appropriate ID, work schedule, disability or illness, lost or stolen identification, or having applied for but not received an approved photo ID.The bill would make lying on the "declaration of impediment" a third-degree felony, which is punishable by two to 10 years in prison. Responding to concerns that people who made a mistake by signing the declaration would be sent to prison, Huffman introduced an amendment that would require prosecutors to prove that a person had "intentionally" lied to vote before charging them with a crime.Huffman also amended her bill to increase the amount of time a person could use an expired form of ID to vote. Currently, the law allows people to use a state-approved ID that has expired within 60 days. The amendment expands the time frame to two years.The Senate tabled an attempt by Sen. Eddie Lucio, D-Brownsville, to add student IDs to the list of documents that could be used to vote if a person did not have a state-approved ID.Voters over 70 would be allowed to use expired IDs to cast a ballot under the proposal. The bill would also require the Texas secretary of state to create a mobile program that would issue election identification certificates.   Continue reading...

Copyright The Dallas Morning News
Contact Us