At press time, the Texas Senate looked set to send a voter ID bill to the House. Senators spent all day Tuesday debating Senate Bill 14, mostly Democrats questioning Republican author Troy Fraser about what would be, as written, one of the toughest laws in the nation requiring photo ID to vote. Fraser mostly deferred the question to resource witnesses from the Department of Public Safety and Secretary of State’s Office, but their testimony didn’t clear things up much. A DPS representative said her agency closed dozens of driver’s license offices around the state because it couldn’t afford to replace license-making equipment, casting doubt on its ability to provide free ID cards to voters who don’t already have driver’s licenses. (And more DPS cuts are proposed in this session’s budget.) Dems also questioned how citizens with mobility challenges would get those IDs if the nearest DPS office is a county (or more) away. The Senate voted 20-12 (with Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst also voting) to send it to final debate late Wednesday or Thursday. Go to austinchronicle.com/legeland for up-to-date coverage.
This article appears in January 28 • 2011.