The Wichita Falls Times Record reports on the Texas GOP’s efforts to require additional documentation to vote:
Existing state law allows voters to simply show their voter registration card or, if they don’t have it, show identification to have their name matched to voter registry rolls.
The proposal by Rep. Betty Brown, R-Terrell, would require voters to produce photo identification or two other forms of non-photo identification at a polling place. Brown said she wants to prevent voter impersonation and to keep “illegal aliens, non-citizens” and other ineligible residents from voting.[.]
A coalition of opponents _ the AARP, the League of Women Voters, People for the American Way and others _ took a stand against the proposal early Monday in a gathering outside the Capitol. They said the measure would discourage voting and disproportionately affect minorities, the elderly, rural residents and women, who they said are less likely to have photo IDs or have photo IDs bearing their married name.[.]
Brown said her bill would still let someone vote without the required identification if they chose to cast a provisional ballot, which could be counted later if the person is determined to have been registered to vote. She also said it wouldn’t affect the mail-in ballot process, used by many elderly or disabled people.
At least this is far less onerous than voter ID measures that have surfaced in other states, which have tended to require photo ID, despite the fact that a nontrivial portion of the population doesn’t have any other need of photo identification.
However, the concerns about voter fraud don’t really resonate with me, given recent reports that the voter fraud has been difficult to find.and that most instances of “fraud” were more likely caused by honest mistakes and the like.