tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7060696059642580878.post5791374195000544443..comments2023-10-30T07:53:58.018-05:00Comments on Crime, Law and Justice: Good Decision Striking Down TX's Voter ID LawAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09908922017589211092noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7060696059642580878.post-25610517080132457322012-09-21T11:59:54.494-05:002012-09-21T11:59:54.494-05:00There are lots of "studies" on the effec...There are lots of "studies" on the effects of voter ID laws. I know of no comprehensive studies of U.S. voter fraud. Convictions are rare, and are, as with most crimes, a poor indicator of the actual amount of crime occurring. Investigating and prosecuting voter fraud often involves officials with vested interests, one way of the other. I suspect that fraud is highest where there is a political machine and that public officials are often indebted to that machine. Based on 35 years of experience teaching and researching, you will find that topics of interest to the political left are heavily researched and topic the left wants to ignore are generally ignored(e.g. defensive use of firearms). If you come across something, please share.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09908922017589211092noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7060696059642580878.post-31250031859263229452012-09-20T17:41:56.922-05:002012-09-20T17:41:56.922-05:00Thanks for the clarification. I don't know of ...Thanks for the clarification. I don't know of any system that's cheat proof. But current state law seems to be working fine. I wonder if there any studies that show if and how big a problem fraudulent elections are. That said, severe penalties should be imposed on anyone for purposeful voter misdeeds. 44https://www.blogger.com/profile/12279323738793315123noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7060696059642580878.post-37502092615656628042012-09-20T15:38:05.285-05:002012-09-20T15:38:05.285-05:00part II
Id. § 15.182(3). A wide array of documents...part II<br />Id. § 15.182(3). A wide array of documents qualify as “supporting identification,” including school records, Social Security cards, pilot’s licenses, and out-of-state driver’s licenses. Id. § 15.182(4). <br />In sum, SB 14 will require every EIC applicant to present DPS officials with at least one of the following underlying forms of identification: <br />• an expired Texas driver’s license or personal ID card; <br />• an original or certified copy of a birth certificate; <br />• U.S. citizenship or naturalization papers; or <br />• a court order indicating a change of name and/or gender. <br /><br />Importantly, it costs money to obtain any of these documents. This means that EIC applicants—i.e., would-be voters—who possess none of these underlying forms of identification will have to bear out-of-pocket costs. For Texas-born voters who have changed neither their name nor gender, the cheapest way to obtain the required documentation will be to order a certified copy of their birth certificate from the Texas Bureau of Vital Statistics at a cost of $22. See Advisory Regarding Election Identification Certificates, ECF No. 308, at 2. (A copy of a court order indicating a change of name and/or gender costs $5 for the records search, plus $1 per page for the court order. Actually obtaining a legal change of name and/or gender costs far more—at least $152. See Attorney General’s Response to the State’s Advisory Regarding Election Identification Certificates, ECF No. 330, at 2-3.) More expensive options exist as well, ranging from $30 for an “expedited” birth certificate order all the way up to $354 for a copy of U.S. citizenship or naturalization papers. See, e.g., Advisory Regarding Election Identification Certificates, ECF No. 308, at 2."<br />As you can see this is much more complicated, expensive and time consuming than the old law. <br /><br /><br />Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09908922017589211092noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7060696059642580878.post-59585859077165930642012-09-20T15:35:59.977-05:002012-09-20T15:35:59.977-05:0044: Thanks for the comment. Preventing voter frau...44: Thanks for the comment. Preventing voter fraud is important and putting at least some requirement on people is justified. However,you are describing current law. I should have given more detail in the initial post. I don't believe the law in issue ever took effect.<br />Here is that detail (pp. 3-4 of opinion.<br />"Senate Bill 14, enacted in 2011, is more stringent than existing Texas law. If implemented, SB 14 will require in-person voters to identify themselves at the polls using one of five forms of government-issued photo identification, two state and three federal: (1) a driver’s license or personal ID card issued by the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS); (2) a license to carry a concealed handgun, also issued by DPS; (3) a U.S. military ID card; (4) a U.S. citizenship certificate with photograph; or (5) a U.S. passport. Tex. Elec. Code § 63.0101 (January 1, 2012). Unlike Texas’s current code, which allows voters to present either photographic or non-photographic ID, SB 14 requires every form of acceptable ID to include a photograph of the voter. Also unlike the current code, SB 14 prohibits the use of IDs that have expired more “than 60 days before the date of presentation” at the polls. Id. Finally, SB 14 will prohibit voters from identifying themselves using only the pictureless “voter registration certificate” issued by a county registrar. <br />Prospective voters lacking one of the forms of photo ID listed in SB 14 will be able to obtain a photographic “election identification certificate” (EIC) for use at the polls. A pocket-sized card “similar in form to . . . a driver’s license,” Tex. Transp. Code § 521A.001(e), an EIC, like a driver’s license, will be distributed through the DPS, and prospective voters will have to visit a DPS office to get one. <br />Although SB 14 prohibits DPS from “collect[ing] a fee for an [EIC],” id. § 521A.001(b), EICs will not be costless. Not only will prospective voters have to expend time and resources traveling to a DPS office, but once there they will have to verify their identity by providing “satisfactory” documentation to DPS officials. Specifically, prospective voters will need to provide (1) one piece of “primary identification,” (2) two pieces of “secondary identification,” or (3) one piece of “secondary identification” plus two pieces of “supporting identification” in order to receive an EIC. 37 Tex. Admin. Code § 15.182. A “primary” identification is an expired Texas driver’s license or personal identification card that has been expired for at least 60 days but not more than two years. Id. § 15.182(2). A “secondary” identification is one of the following: <br />• an original or certified copy of a birth certificate; <br />• an original or certified copy of a court order indicating an official change of name and/or gender; or <br />• U.S. citizenship or naturalization papers without an identifiable photo. <br />SEE COMMENT BELOW FOR 2ND HALF <br /><br />Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09908922017589211092noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7060696059642580878.post-86577258257866526332012-09-20T13:39:46.201-05:002012-09-20T13:39:46.201-05:00I don't know about requiring a photo ID, but I...I don't know about requiring a photo ID, but I do feel strongly that voters prove they're residents of their voting district(s). Our county does a good job with their resident lists and paper voter ID mail-outs. They'll even accept a valid photo driver's license. It's absolutely imperative legitimate voters show one or the other forms of identification to stop rigged and fraudulent votes from cancelling their choice(s). 44https://www.blogger.com/profile/12279323738793315123noreply@blogger.com