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Texas

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onestepforward

(3,691 posts)
Wed Oct 23, 2013, 02:02 PM Oct 2013

Harsh new Texas voter ID law almost blocks woman judge from voting [View all]

http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2013/10/23/harsh-new-texas-voter-id-law-almost-blocks-woman-judge-from-voting/

A new voter ID law requiring strict uniformity across all forms of identification nearly kept a Texas district judge from being able to cast her ballot in the state’s early voting session. According to Think Progress, Judge Sandra Watts was challenged at the poll when she presented her usual ID.

“What I have used for voter registration and for identification for the last 52 years was not sufficient yesterday when I went to vote,” 117th District Court Judge Sandra Watts told KIII-TV.

Watts said she has voted in every election for the last 49 years and that her name on her driver’s license has remained the same for the last 52. The address on her license and voter registration card have been the same for more than two decades. However, on Tuesday, at the outset of early voting for the Nov. 5 election, the judge was asked to sign a “voter’s affidavit” saying that she is who she says she is before she would be allowed to vote.

The problem was that her maiden name was listed as her middle name on her driver’s license, whereas on her voter registration card, her actual middle name is listed. This small discrepancy was enough to have her flagged as a potentially fraudulent voter.

Under laws recently adopted by the Republican-led state legislature, anyone whose name differs even slightly from one form of ID to another is automatically flagged for possible vote fraud. The new policy could particularly impact women who now go by married or hyphenated names.

-snip-


I think I will have a similar problem as the judge in the above story. My driver's license is First Middle Maiden-Married.

My voter registration card is First Maiden Married.

Do I need to get my voter ID card changed and how do I do that?

This sucks.
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I would re-register to vote so both names are exact if Ilsa Oct 2013 #1
Thanks for the head's up about the address. onestepforward Oct 2013 #3
you can do it online for Ilsa Oct 2013 #6
Thanks Ilsa! onestepforward Oct 2013 #7
This is not needed so long as the addresses are close Gothmog Oct 2013 #4
I just noticed I have that "problem" too, but it's an issue between kentauros Oct 2013 #18
It is not that bad Gothmog Oct 2013 #2
Thanks so much, Gothmog! onestepforward Oct 2013 #5
Please let me know if you have any problems Gothmog Oct 2013 #10
I will! onestepforward Oct 2013 #11
Which suburb of Houston are you in? Gothmog Oct 2013 #13
I vote in Harris County. onestepforward Oct 2013 #14
If you have problems, let me know Gothmog Oct 2013 #15
Excuse me but as a woman & an attorney as well WolverineDG Oct 2013 #17
The Texas voter id law is stupid but this was not an intended consequence Gothmog Oct 2013 #19
LOTS of women, maybe most, will have this problem. northoftheborder Oct 2013 #8
You might want to vote early too onestepforward Oct 2013 #9
You should not have a problem if the election judge follows the SOS guidelines Gothmog Oct 2013 #12
The State of Texas made the decision to put the maiden name on the Texas Driver's Licenses DhhD Oct 2013 #16
This is voter intimidation because the County and State already have this information about DhhD Oct 2013 #21
Please report any issues with voting in Texas to Texas Democratic Party Gothmog Oct 2013 #20
On my local message board, onestepforward Oct 2013 #22
So now we have a County Election Person deciding what a woman's legal name is or voting name is. DhhD Oct 2013 #23
UPDATE: I voted today onestepforward Nov 2013 #24
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