It seems to me that Rep. Betty Brown, R-Terrell, has gone completely kamikaze on the voter ID bill. She announced yesterday that she would try to amend Troy Fraser‘s SB 362 to force voters to show a photo ID at the polling place, no exceptions. Fraser’s bill calls for photo ID in addition to a voter registration certificate, but also allows voters to substitute that with two forms of non-photo ID.
Given that the central argument against voter ID is that it would shut out the poor and others who have difficulty obtaining photo ID, it seems unlikely that Brown’s amendment could get the support of enough moderates to pass, but who knows?
I just talked with Fraser, and he declined to criticize Brown’s move: “I’m not going to second-guess the House. If they want to vote for it, that’s fine, I just want a bill back.”
This article appears in May 15 • 2009.