Canned Laughter

On Tuesday March 10, 2009 a special hearing will be held on SB 362 the Voter ID bill. In order to prevent voter fraud, this bill proposes that registered voters must show a valid photo ID at the polls.

Much political bruhaha is stirring around this bill.  Texas Republicans are carrying on about stopping those wily cheatin’ Dems and their busloads of illegal aliens casting duplicate votes.  Texas Democrats are carrying on about evil brownshirt Republicans marching in lockstep to stop the Democratic tide and keep Texans of color down.  Frankly I don’t give a rat’s rear end about either of their politicing.

I do however, care about the average citizens whose right to vote will be impacted if SB 362 passes.  Who are these citizens who don’t have a valid photo ID?  Everyone has one, right?  Wrong.  Here are some of the people who could be turned away at the polls if SB 362 becomes law:

• People who have recently moved and do not have an address on their ID that matches their votor registration card.
• Students who are voting in person near campus rather than at their permanent address.
• Recently married women whose new last name does not match both their ID and their Voter Registration.
• Recently divorced women whose new last name does not match both their ID and their Voter Registration.
• Anyone carrying a temporary ID without a photo due to a lost or stolen ID who are still waiting for the permanent ID with a photo to be mailed to them.
• The millions of Texans who do not have a Driver’s License and have never heard of or had any use for a Department of Public Safety Identification Card.

Really, is it a big deal to expect people to stop at the Dept. of Public Safety and get a non-driver ID card? For many it is a very big deal indeed.   Imagine a woman named Sadie who has voted in every election since LBJ was in office.  She looks forward to walking to the polling place and doing her civic duty.  It takes her a long time to walk there, but the bus is just too much for her these days, what with stairs and schedules.

She would never ask for a ride to the DMV because she doesn’t want to be a burden to others.  Besides, she can’t stand for long periods in DMV lines and when she gets to the counter they will ask for a confusing array of documents that are difficult and expensive for many people to produce.  Will Sadie stop exercising her right to vote?

Yes, my Sadie is imaginary, but there are many very real people who have already been hindered or blocked when trying cast a ballot in other states with similar laws.

• Six term Ohio Republican Congressman Steve Chabot was turned away when poll workers noticed his driver’s license had his office address rather than his home address on it.
• 19 year old Notre Dame student Angela Hiss was who was registered to vote in her college town, was turned away because the Indiana DMV did not recognize her Chicago driver’s license as valid ID for obtaining an Indiana photo ID.
• Last year 12 Indiana nuns, mostly in their 80s and 90s were turned away by a fellow sister because they did not have valid picture IDs. The ones who did produce picture IDs had expired documents.

Are you telling me that big strong Texas lawmakers want to emulate those cowardly Yankees in Indiana who were afraid to let little old nuns vote? Say it ain’t so!

Considering all of this, I think my Sadie would remind us of the words of her LBJ:

Open your polling places to all your people.
Allow men and women to register and vote whatever the color of their skin.
Extend the rights of citizenship to every citizen of this land.
There is no constitutional issue here. The command of the Constitution is plain.
There is no moral issue. It is wrong—deadly wrong—to deny any of your fellow Americans the right to vote in this country.
There is no issue of States fights or national rights. There is only the struggle for human rights.
I have not the slightest doubt what will be your answer.