Hey, here’s a great idea for American democracy at a time when 50% turnout is con-sidered a good election: Let’s make it harder to vote. The House Elections Committee last Wednesday heard HB 516, a bill requiring people to prove their citizenship in order to register to vote. That means if you’re unregistered and trip over a voter-registration drive and think, “By golly, I think I’ll sign up to exercise my civic duty,” you need to have either a passport, naturalization papers, or a birth certificate in your back pocket if you want to sign up on the spot.
While the bill would make registration harder for everyone, it would especially stymie street-corner voter-registration efforts by groups like Democracy for Texas at a time when Demo-crats credit new voters with helping win some close races, like that of Hubert Vo in Houston or Mark Strama in Austin. And, because many people misplace even important documents (quick: Where’s your birth certificate?) and new copies come with fees, groups like the ACLU argue that the bill creates an indirect poll tax.
But the bill’s author, Rep. Betty Brown, R-Athens, says the bill is necessary to stem a tide of noncitizens voting. When asked to provide evidence of the extent of to which noncitizens successfully cast ballots, Brown admitted that the evidence was only “anecdotal.” However, Rep. Rafael Anchía, D-Dallas, said that when Arizona studied the issue during debates over similar legislation, the study found exactly 12 noncitizens who had voted in the last three years. “I, like you, am concerned that people not abuse the system,” he said. “But I feel that requiring people to prove their citizenship creates more of a chilling effect.”
Brown insisted she was merely fighting for the integrity of the democratic process. “I believe that voting is such a privilege in this country that it should be reserved for citizens,” she said. “We all hear stories about people who vote who shouldn’t.”
Yep. And we all hear about people who should vote, but don’t. Funny, that. (And we seem to remember from civics class that voting is a “right,” not a “privilege.”)
The bill was left pending in committee.
This article appears in February 25 • 2005.