Texas Attorney General Almost Disenfranchised By His Own Voter ID Law

[Coyotl]

Here's a situation to watch on Tuesday:

By Aviva Shen on November 1, 2013 at 1:06 pm

As early voting begins in Texas, the state’s new, strict voter ID law has thus far flagged a judge, gubernatorial candidate Wendy Davis, and another state senator as potentially illegitimate voters. Attorney General Greg Abbott (R), voter ID’s most strident defender, was also flagged as a suspicious voter under his own law’s strict criteria.

Abbott was flagged because his license lists his name as “Gregory Wayne Abbott” while his voter registration record simply calls him “Greg Abbott.”

Longtime voters, particularly married women who have taken a spouse’s name, are being stopped at the polls because their names on their drivers’ licenses differ from their voter registration forms. Thanks to an amendment added by Wendy Davis, voters who clearly have “substantially similar” names can still cast a regular ballot by signing an affidavit affirming their identity. If the law had gone through unmodified as Abbott originally supported, he would have disenfranchised himself.

Though Davis’ amendment will allow many legitimate voters to vote, the process to determine “substantial similarity” and organize affidavit-signing will inevitably clog up Texas electoral processes with unnecessary confusion. Come November 5, Texas’ polling places may resemble Florida’s in 2012, where Republicans’ election law changes created marathon lines and pollworker confusion.

............

[mrJJ]

1. Voter ID law snags former House Speaker Jim Wright

FORT WORTH — Former House Speaker Jim Wright was denied a voter ID card Saturday at a Texas Department of Public Safety office.

“Nobody was ugly to us, but they insisted that they wouldn’t give me an ID,” Wright said.

The legendary Texas political figure says that he has worked things out with DPS and that he will get a state-issued personal identification card in time for him to vote Tuesday in the state and local elections.

But after the difficulty he had this weekend getting a proper ID card, Wright, 90, expressed concern that such problems could deter others from voting and stifle turnout. After spending much of his life fighting to make it easier to vote, the Democratic Party icon said he is troubled by what he’s seeing happen under the state’s new voter ID law.

“I earnestly hope these unduly stringent requirements on voters won’t dramatically reduce the number of people who vote,” Wright told the Star-Telegram. “I think they will reduce the number to some extent.”

Wright and his assistant, Norma Ritchson, went to the DPS office on Woodway Drive to get a State of Texas Election Identification Certificate. Wright said he realized earlier in the week that the photo identifications he had — a Texas driver’s license that expired in 2010 and a TCU faculty ID — do not satisfy requirements of the voter ID law, enacted in 2011 by the Legislature. DPS officials concurred.

Read more here: http://www.star-telegram.com/2013/11/02/5300503/voter-id-law-snags-former-house.html#storylink=cpy

[rock]

2. What goes around ...

gets shoved up your ass!

[chillfactor]

3. karma is great! n/t

[CatWoman]

4. lol

I love the way you put that!!

[Coyotl]

6. and where

[CatWoman]

8. *snap*

[rock]

14. Thank you both kindly

[Scurrilous]

5. K & R

[Coyotl]

7. kick

[LisaL]

9. Wouldn't it have been an ultimate irony if he couldn't vote at all?

[Coyotl]

10. If he was disqualified from running for governor!

Isn't he opponent #1 for Wendy Davis' governor race?

[fadedrose]

11. Her campaign.."if it weren't for me", he couldn't even vote :)

They could make a lot of hay with that...

[Coyotl]

13. Or, couldn't run. Incredible, isn't it! Irony doesn't get much more obvious than that.

[WillyT]

12. I'm Not Religious... But There May Be Something To That Karma Thing...

[kelliekat44]

15. Isn't this worse than the ACA snags? And the media seems to ignore the voter ID snags.

Just goes to show you where the media stands... and it ain't with the voters.