Texas House Passes Bill Requiring Voters to Show Photo ID
The Texas House has approved a bill requiring residents to show photo identification before voting amid complaints from Democrats who say it’s designed to erect hurdles for poor and minority voters.
The legislation cleared the House 101-48 Wednesday night after more than 11 hours of debate in which Democrats repeatedly tried to derail it.
The measure has sparked anger and partisan bickering ever since Republican Gov. Rick Perry put it on the fast track at the beginning of the legislative session in January. GOP lawmakers say it’s necessary to prevent voter fraud. Democrats contend the bill is aimed at poor and minority voters who are less likely to have state-issued identification cards.
Republican lawmakers in several other states are pushing similar legislation this year.
Full Story Here:
Texas House Passes Bill Requiring Voters to Show Photo ID
Congratulations to our Texas lawmakers that had the good sense to support this bill and to keep up the effort to push it through.
It’s only right that ALL voters in Texas, and across the United States for that matter, have some form of a PICTURE I.D. that makes it easily recognizable that you are who you say you are. This will go a long ways towards eliminating voter fraud. It won’t automatically make it ALL go away, some folks are really creative in their efforts to file lots of fraudulent votes.
The simplest, and most universally recognized form of I.D. is a state drivers license, or, if you don’t drive, a state issued, pictured I.D. card.
And lets face the facts, if you are a voter, you have a Social Security Card, a voters registration card and at least one form of pictured, and OFFICIAL identification.
Or, you should have.
Republican Rep. Jose Aliseda, a naturalized U.S. citizen born in Mexico, said the bill “just makes common sense” and that electoral shenanigans are real in the South Texas district he represents.
“Americans expect it. Americans want it,” he said. “They want to believe their voting system is at least as safe as renting a movie at Blockbuster.”
To Rep. Jose Aliseda, thank you for coming to this nation, becoming a U.S. citizen and for being a strong GOP, and apparently Conservative representative. It’s people like you that make me proud Sir!
Rep. Marc Veasey, D-Fort Worth, said the bill would undermine the civil rights that minorities gained after years of voter suppression.
“People are willing to turn back the clock … just so they can win close elections,” Veasey said. “If you don’t have these forms of identification, your vote is going to be thrown in the garbage.”
Rep. Marc Veasey, pictured below, is, in MY not so humble opinion, a MORON, and a prime example of why liberals should be banned from ever holding office.
This is going to undermine CIVIL RIGHTS?
Well, there ya go, leave it to a moonbat Democrat to throw the RACE CARD when it’s an issue that they can’t support. What Veasey doesn’t realize in his cloud of delusion is this, guys like him have thrown the RACE CARD, ie: civil rights, so often, that it now holds little significance in the grand scheme of things.
Rep. Marc Veasey needs to realize that this is 2011, you need I.D. to do just about everything.
You can’t drive a car, cash a check, get out of jail, get your car out of impound if it’s towed, open a bank account, see a doctor, get many jobs, hold a security clearance, buy beer, booze and smokes if you look under age, rent an apartment, buy a house, get married, any number of things, if you don’t have an I.D.
How then, does requiring a voter I.D. undermine CIVIL RIGHTS?
Voters without ID could cast a provisional ballot but would have to show one within six days to have their vote counted.
A provisional vote? Seriously? We’re going to let people with NO pictured identification vote and then give them six days to produce that I.D. or then their vote won’t be counted? Isn’t that a further waste of time and money to have to go back and recount the provisional votes because some numb-skull doesn’t have a drivers license or a state issued I.D. card.
The bill had contained an exemption for elderly voters, but the House stripped it out during deliberations Wednesday.
The elderly may not have a drivers license, I can understand that, I don’t drive anymore because of my health issues, BUT, I have a state issued photo I.D. card, and anyone that doesn’t have a drivers license, a military I.D. or some form of OFFICIAL identification needs to have some, especially the elderly.
How many times do we hear the stories of an elderly person with some form of dementia that is lost? If they have NO I.D. they may be lost forever. And their mental state doesn’t necessarily mean they will carry that I.D., but if they are cognizant enough to vote, odds are, they’ll carry an identification of some sort.
A similar version of the bill has already passed the Senate, and the legislation is deemed likely to get approval during the 2011 session after being shot down during high-intensity debates in recent years. Rep. Dennis Bonnen, the Houston-area Republican who chairs the committee that approved the House version of the bill, said he didn’t understand why it had become a partisan issue.
“I have Democrats, Republicans and independents in my district who think people ought to show ID before being allowed to vote,” Bonnen said.
Here’s something that may shock, or even offend some readers, in this day and time, in the USA we are living in, a nation over-run will ILLEGALS and potential foreign terrorists, I personally have NO problem with a NATIONAL I.D. card that says *I AM AN AMERICAN*.
A lot of folks see that as some sort of an intrusion on their right to privacy, but if you think about it, what does it matter? If you have a drivers license, a credit card, a social security card, any of a number of other cards or accounts, you’re already in the system, if you’re not planning on being the one to break the law, commit nefarious deeds or the like, why NOT have a card that says to all who see it, *I AM AN AMERICAN*?
It’s time that we actually secure this nation. It’s time that we do everything in our power to take out the garbage and eliminate as much fraud and corruption as we possibly can.
If the only argument you have against this is some idiotic rant about it being NAZI tactics, “Show me your papers“, save your time and effort, that crap won’t fly here…
Finally, something that makes common sense. There is only ONE reason for opposing this idea: it would stop non-American ILLEGAL persons from voting or — at least — it would require those persons with phony licenses to display them publicly and have them acknowledged. They could then, subsequently, be charged with a crime.
Repeat: the ONLY reason to REFUSE to make voters show ID is to get ILLEGAL voters to pad the DemoratS/Leftists — in order to vote their FREE CHEESE which, in turn, keeps Demorats in office.
Bottom line: this is about power acquisition by Demorats.
All others embrace what is called “accountability.”
BZ
BZ — Accountability indeed…
But do you have to keep on with the FREE CHEESE stuff??
Now I want a sandwich…a CHEESE sandwich… 😛
The only reason a politician would call this disenfranchisement or a civil rights violation is because they’re getting illegal votes. Without having to show ID, you could vote in place of a sick friend or relative. We all know people who never vote and we could vote in their place. It seems Rep Veasey is the recipient of fraudulent votes and wants it to continue.
From the For-What-It’s-Worth Department:
I may ruffle feathers here, but the idea of mandating an ID card that must be paid for by the individual voter sorta smells of “poll tax” to me.
Unless a photo is attached to the voter registration certificate (card) when the voter registers to vote (at no charge) the state, in effect, will be requiring the purchase of a voter ID card the voter will be required to pay (be taxed) for the right to vote.
I understand and sympathize with the good intentions involved, but we all know where the road paved with good intentions leads.
Vehicle registration, drivers licenses, vehicle inspection stickers, concealed carry permits, laws passed in violation of our right to carry, zero tolerance in schools, along with most traffic laws all began with good intentions. Today, all these legislative attempts that were intended to protect serve no purpose other than to merely produce revenue or serve to control citizens.
I’m open to debate.
[W3]
Woody, it’s got nothing to do with a *poll tax*, and there is no one being forced to purchase a voter registration card… It’s ALL about making sure they really are registered voters and that they have an I.D. proving they are who they SAY they are, and we all should…
Here in Texas, as you should know, it’s to keep the WETBACKS out of the voting booth and to stop the Dems from *voting the dead*…
And Woody, your Libertarian is showing… 😐
Good for Texas. I honestly believe the MINUTE this became FEDERAL law, the Democrats would be out of any power position in DC. It would also be the end of ACORN as we know it.
As is evident by our current assholes in DC, driving a car is far less dangerous to our country than voting. The dead, the illegals, and the MANY elected the idiots we have now, and in California, it’s the only way DEMONRATS continue to dominate our legislature.
But I think the unintended consequences would be an UPTICK in fake id’s… I’m betting ACORN would open a new subsidiary just for that purpose.
Again Congratulation TEXAS for pushing this through.
Great news indeed! It seems like common sense that a person would have to prove who he is before he is allowed to vote and it always amazes me when I go to vote here in New Hampshire that nobody asks me for an ID before I vote. The left is going to fall back on the same argument they always do when things don’t go their way-this is racist-but in reality there is no justifiable reason for a person to not have to prove they are who they say they are when they go to vote.
I doesn’t smell of a poll tax to me. ID is required for just about anything you need to do in today’s society. Even the entitlement generation welfare recipient is required to show ID when they cash their checks or set up a bank account for their direct deposit. If you try to return merchandise at many retail stores without a receipt, you are required to show ID and if you fail to produce ID, the return is denied.
Voting is for citizens and a person should be required to prove citizenship in order to vote.
I thought I had already posted this but, guess not;
My what? is showing? and here, I thought I had my pants zipped.
Fred, I fully understand and appreciate the reasoning behind requiring identification at the polling places. Illegals and the dead as well as totally mentally incapacitated old folks residing in nursing homes who don’t even remember their own names have been voting for years, especially here in Texas.
It’s just that it’s irritating as hell to be required by government to submit myself to regulations that are brought on by those who have no sense of ethical behaviour or responsibility. It’s been said that a government that requires its citizens to carry identification cards is not long for this world.
[W3]
Woody, that makes NO sense to me, NONE… That is a Libertarian philosophy if I ever heard one, that, or an almost anarchist one, because basically, what you’re saying is, ALL things that are government is bad and they shouldn’t make laws…
Before you argue that’s not what you said, re-read your comments, it’s very close to that…
I won’t say that we ALL carry identification, but anyone that’s *put out* by the idea of carrying I.D. has a bit of a problem in my opinion.
As a cop I know told a smart-assed kid one day, after the kid had several complaints filed against him, “I need to see some I.D. please..”
The kid told him, “I don’t think I need to show you my ID, and I don’t have it anyway….”
The cop told him, “Well, OK, you don’t have to have an ID to GO to jail, but you’re certainly going to have to have one to get out… ”
Smart-ass produced his DL promptly and that was the end of that discussion..
A voter ID, and in my mind, a national ID are a very good thing, we KNOW who the Americans are, and under a decent POTUS, we could remove those that don’t belong to begin with, and here’s one other thing, the BIG BROTHER argument won’t hold water here, if they wanted to mess you over, it would have already happened…
Everyone, LEGAL Americans, needs to carry an ID, a REAL one, and anyone that thinks otherwise has a serious problem with their *real world* perception…
I have had to show ID whenever I voted in person at a polling place. I started in 1972 and did vote absentee in a couple, 1976 and 1980, deployed aboard ship. But the process to get the absentee ballot includes swearing to a commissioned officer. And odds are he knew you in a squadron.
Last year I did the mail in thing as is the norm in rural Kern County, CA. But I registered at the DMV when I got my CA DL.
So, I simply have to tell Mr. Veasey that he is full of crap and should take a bleeping hike.
And I hope to God I never hear that term, “disenfranchised” ever in this.
Of course voters should have to show photo ID!
Here in Virginia, we’ve had to do so for several years now. And before we had to do so, I always wondered why we didn’t have to show that photo ID.
Hell, we have to show a photo ID to be admitted to the local hospital.
Card ’em all. The voting process in this country, thanks to the Democrats, is as corrupted as an infected molar. In Philly, they’d register anybody with a pulse, and some without.
Fred,
I said what I said, however I believe you misinterpreted what I said. Please bear with me for a few minutes.
Rather than deny that I said anything, let me remind you of what I did say. “…the idea of mandating an ID card that must be paid for by the individual voter sorta smells of “poll tax” to me.”
As it turns out, the folks who drafted and passed SB 14 must agree with me as they made provisions for the DPS issued ID card to be furnished at no cost. See the following:
SECTION 20. Section 521.422, Transportation Code, is amended by amending Subsection (a) and adding Subsection (d) to read as follows:
[WWW - Note: Subsection (a) is a price listing for various licenses and ID cards. I did not include it here in order to conserve space.]
(d) The department may not collect a fee for a personal identification certificate issued to a person who states that the person is obtaining the personal identification certificate for the purpose of satisfying Section 63.001(b), Election Code, and:
(1) who is a registered voter in this state and presents a valid voter registration certificate; or
(2) who is eligible for registration under Section 13.001, Election Code, and submits a registration application to the department.
I had not read SB-14 prior to making my previous comments and made the mistake of leaping to the unsupported conclusion that Texas citizens would be required to pay for the right to vote in the same manner that we are expected to pay for our right to bear arms.
I admit that I do lean toward the libertarian view but I also believe that government serves necessary functions. Those functions being; to perform the duties listed in the preamble to the Constitution for the United States and otherwise stay out of our private affairs.
Judging from your posts recently it looks as if you and the good folks of Rowlett are getting an up close and personal taste of arrogance and jam-it-down-your-throat elitism in government.
[W3]
Here in Gun Barrel City, TX. our voting polls are run by white retired old folks, just like myself.
Always, you must show your voter’s registration card AND also another State or Federal ID. Your signature is ALWAYS checked as is your photograph. A Constable is always visible.
Intimidating, You betcha! I like it this way.
The illegals here have told me that since they are the parents of their small children who were born here, that also makes them legal voters.
Imagine that. I say to them, that In Mexico. You MUST have your Mexican Voters Card with your photograph on it, in order to vote.
It is the most valuable card they have in their wallet/purse.
Their answer is to quickly get away from me, disappear in a flash, as they now know I just spoke the truth, that they didn’t want known!!
Well, I am led to understand that Woody has spent his life in law enforcement, and for some reason he isn’t all that happy about a voter ID being required, that really hits me as *strange*…
What’s the 1st thing a cop asks for? I.D.
Everyone should have a drivers license or state I.D. card regardless, this isn’t a POLL TAX, it’s called common sense, and there’s not nearly enough of it lately…