Texas Photo ID Law Blocks Legitimate Voters
Brennan Center
Texas Photo ID Law Blocks Legitimate Voters
The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals is scheduled to hear oral argument April 28 on Texas’s strict photo ID law.
A federal judge struck down the measure in October 2014, finding 600,000 registered voters lacked the photo ID now needed. The requirement, the judge ruled, makes it harder for minorities to vote, was enacted to intentionally discriminate against minorities, and unconstitutionally burdens the right to vote.
http://www.brennancenter.org/sites/all/modules/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=80954&qid=4621788
The Supreme Court, however, allowed Texas’s law to remain in place for the November 2014 election — and voters paid the consequences. Unprotected by the courts, the photo ID requirement left many confused and prevented several from voting entirely. The Brennan Center — which is part of the legal team representing the plaintiffs in the case — shared stories of several of those voters this week.
Sheileh Hejny, 68, was born in Texas and has voted since she was 21, but she could not vote last November. Her driver’s license is expired, but she does have photo identification — a military survivor’s ID. When she tried to use it during early voting, however, poll workers refused to accept it because they said it was expired. Ms. Hejny said making her voice heard is very important to her, especially because her husband spent time in the military, and the two of them always voted. She will not be stopped again, and plans to vote in the next election.
Kim Stanger, 55, is a retired kindergarten teacher in Ben Wheeler, Texas who votes regularly. She did not have her driver’s license when she went to the polls in November and was ultimately unable to vote, despite casting a provisional ballot with the correct information, including her driver’s license number. About a week after submitting the ballot, Ms. Stanger received a letter claiming her driver’s license number, which she has memorized, was missing from the form. She mailed in the number again but received another letter saying the ballot was rejected for lack of a driver’s license number. She received no responses from multiple follow up phone calls.
Daniel Menchaca, 61, of El Paso also couldn’t vote in 2014. He has a civilian-worker ID from his job at a federal agency. It has his picture and an expiration date and he needed to undergo thorough background checks to receive it. “I understand that they want you to show an ID, but my card was issued by the federal government,” he said. “My ID is good enough to get on a military base, but it’s not good enough to vote?”
The Brennan Center will release more voter stories in advance of the April 28 argument.
http://www.brennancenter.org/sites/all/modules/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=80956&qid=4621788
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