Texas, Rights Groups Prepare for Voter ID Showdown

Colmenero says Texas Republican lawmakers, who had a substantial majority in the Legislature in 2011, were being pressured by their constituents that year to pass a voter ID law with “minimal loopholes.”

“The result was SB 14, and the bill would have been enacted regardless of any other alleged secretly held legislative purpose,” the brief states.

But the NAACP and the other plaintiffs claim in their own brief that it’s clear Republicans in the Texas Legislature wanted to tamp down voter participation of Democrat-leaning minorities by the forms of photo ID they made acceptable under SB 14.

Concealed handgun-licenses are accepted and 7.1 percent of white registered voters in Texas have them, but only 2.4 percent of Hispanics and 3.3 percent of African-Americans do, the brief states, citing a study by Dr. Steven Ansolabehere, who testified for the plaintiffs in the September 2014 trial before Ramos.

Neither student IDs nor government employee IDs can be used under SB 14, further evidence of discriminatory intent, the plaintiffs say in their Nov. 18 brief.

“There are approximately 1.5 million government employees in the State of Texas, and they are disproportionally African-American and Latino, compared to the general population. The disparity holds among registered voters: 16.2 percent of black registered voters and 12.0 percent of Latino registered voters are government employees, while only 6.3 percent of white registered voters are government employees,” the plaintiffs’ brief states.

The NAACP and other groups also claim that although Texans can get free election-identification certificates with their photo on them from Texas Department of Public Safety under SB 14, the fact that Texas legislators put the law enforcement agency in charge of administering the certificates also points to discriminatory intent.

Georgia and Indiana have also passed voter ID laws, but they put election officials or agencies other than law enforcement in charge of issuing no-fee voter ID cards.

The Texas Department of Public Safety, or DPS, employs state troopers in its offices, and is apt to intimidate Hispanic and African-American voters, who are more likely than whites to have had negative experiences with law enforcement, the plaintiffs claim.

“Edcouch City Councilman Daniel Guzman, who represents a predominantly Latino and socioeconomically depressed community in Hidalgo County, testified that when he offered to transport voters who did not have SB 14 ID to DPS, many refused to go with him for fear of what would happen to them at DPS,” the brief states, citing Guzman’s testimony from the September 2014 trial. “He explained, ‘Some people are hesitant to step into a Department of Public Safety office where you have state troopers. Some people are afraid that they might owe citations. Some people are afraid that they owe child support and their names are going to get run once they go get an I.D. card and get arrested on the spot.’”

In addition, the plaintiffs argue, Texas’ claim that SB 14 is needed to prevent voter fraud is bogus.

“In-person voter impersonation is extremely rare in Texas elections. The Office of the Texas Attorney General and the Office of the Secretary of State are aware of only one conviction and one guilty plea for in-person voter impersonation in any election in the State of Texas from 2002 until trial in September 2014,” the brief states.

The NAACP and the other plaintiffs say attempted fraud is much more prevalent in absentee voting. Under SB 14, people 65 or older can vote early by mail without providing a photo ID.

Though Texas is a “majority-minority” state with non-whites making up a majority of the population, most elderly Texans are white.

“Anglo Texans are substantially more likely than Hispanic or African-American Texans to be 65 or older. Therefore, Anglo voters are far more likely to qualify to vote by mail on the basis of age – and thus able to vote without presenting SB 14 ID – than Hispanic or African-American voters,” the plaintiffs claim.

Despite the scant evidence of voter fraud, Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, a Republican who co-authored SB 14 while serving in the Texas senate, said he is intent on passing a new voter ID law during the state’s 2017 legislative session that starts in January.

He listed Voter ID as number five in a Nov. 14 statement announcing his top 10 legislative priorities for the new legislative session.

"I firmly believe having a photo voter ID law is essential.  Citizens must be able to trust the certified outcome of every election and we must protect the voting rights of every eligible voter in Texas,” Patrick said in a statement to Courthouse News. "As a state senator, I co-authored a voter ID bill which unfortunately was not upheld by the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals. I am determined to pass legislation this session to assure the integrity of the vote in Texas.”

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