Oops! DPS Can't Afford Voter ID
Agency lacks budget to replace ID card printers
By Lee Nichols, 6:56PM, Tue. Jan. 25, 2011
Ah, the GOP’s determination to run government on nothing but air comes back to bite them in the ass. Rebecca Davio, the assistant director of the Department of Public Safety’s drivers license division, has testified that dozens of counties have no DPS license office because the agency can’t afford to replace broken license-making equipment.
And the 2011-12 budget will ask for more cuts. Yet, the Voter ID bill that Republicans so badly want to pass will expect the DPS to produce free IDs for those who need them to vote. Oops.
I'm looking at a map passed out by the Democrats, showing that of Texas' 254 counties, 13 have no DPS drivers license office, another 65 are "temporarily" closed, and another 32 are only open three days or less per week. And five more counties have offices that are not wheelchair accessible. There will be some people who have to travel a mighty long way – including people with mobility impairments or lack of a vehicle – to exercise their right to vote.
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82nd Legislature, voter ID, Department of Public Safety
