Elections Committee Gets a Scolding from John Courage on Voter ID Bills

Thanks so much for your activism to save our votes and Democracy. (0.00 / 0)

The gop are desparate cheaters.

from:
http://www.latimes.c...

Fewer pledge allegiance to the GOP

A poll says 35% of those surveyed identify with Republicans. Public attitudes seem to be drifting toward Democrats' values.

By Janet Hook
Times Staff Writer

March 23, 2007

WASHINGTON - Public allegiance to the Republican Party has plunged during George W. Bush's presidency, as attitudes have edged away from some of the conservative values that fueled GOP political victories, a major survey has found.

The survey, by the nonpartisan Pew Research Center for the People & the Press, found a "dramatic shift" in political party identification since 2002, when Republicans and Democrats were at rough parity. Now, 50% of those surveyed identified with or leaned toward Democrats, whereas 35% aligned with Republicans.

What's more, the survey found, public attitudes are drifting toward Democrats' values: Support for government aid to the disadvantaged has grown since the mid-1990s, skepticism about the use of military force has increased and support for traditional family values has decreased.

The findings suggest that the challenges for the GOP reach beyond the unpopularity of the war in Iraq and Bush.

more

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by: ProveOurDemocracy @ Thu Mar 29, 2007 at 06:35:45 AM UTC

Unpopular Desperate Cheaters (0.00 / 0)

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by: ProveOurDemocracy @ Thu Mar 29, 2007 at 08:00:15 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

Fiscal note on HB218 (0.00 / 0)

Here's an interesting thing to point out.

The Betty Brown bill that passed out of committee HB218 was the original bill.  She pulled her committee substitute at the last minute.  There's a fiscal note on this bill of $177,060 per year or $885,300 for five years.

The methodology for the calculation in the fiscal note is this:

Methodology
The revenue loss is determined by applying the percentage of the population below poverty level (16.2%) to the estimated number of persons that would register to vote (72,864), the estimated number of persons eligible to execute the affidavit that they are financially unable to pay the fee for an identification card would be 11,804 (72,864  X 16.2% = 11,804).  If the fee were waived for these persons, the estimated revenue loss for the Texas Mobility Fund would be $177,060 for each fiscal year (11,804 x $15 = $177,060).

I'm have trouble accepting this number.  72,864 registrations for the whole state in one year?  Heck we had more than that number in new registrations in Travis alone.  So let's say I do my own calculation and accept that the number of persons who are economically disadvantaged is 16.2%.  I'm going to apply that to the registered number of voters instead, which is 13,074,279 according to the latest figures the SOS has.

Keep in mind that current registered voters have to provide an ID not just new ones. So from the existing pool of registered voters, you should be able to apply that 16.2% and say that at least for the first year 2,118,033 of them are going to need a free ID. At a cost of $15 that's going to cost the state $31,770,495.00! 

I know some of you are going to argue that all 2 million of them aren't going to need an ID because they may already have one.  Fine, show me your numbers and sources, because I sure don't buy the 72,864 number either.

Believe me, we're going to see plenty of groups promoting the free ID program the state is going to provide.  Register now and get your free ID!

And the chair of this committee won't pass an unfunded mandate bill for verifiable voter paper ballots estimated to cost only $50M.

Which kind of fraud is more apt to turn an election?  Voter impersonation which is the only kind of fraud these bills purport to attack or tampering with DREs?

Wrap your head around that one.

Source: SOS website

Thank you John for standing up

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by: sonia @ Thu Mar 29, 2007 at 14:11:00 PM UTC

question (0.00 / 0)

can you explain the affidavit process. Is the idea that you have to be below the poverty line in order to avoid a poll tax? Is this not a violation of "equal protection"

Shouldn't anyone regardless of income be able to request a free i.d. if it is required to exercise a constitutional right?

Prisoner of hope.

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by: comeon @ Fri Mar 30, 2007 at 15:12:35 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

Yes, it's their vague attempt at correcting a poll tax error (5.00 / 1)

And it didn't fly in GA either.

The photo ID requirement in not narrowly tailored to serve its stated purposes of preventing voter fraud. (Dunn, 405 U.S. at 346) Statutes affecting constitutional rights must be drawn with "precision" and "tailored" to serve legitimate objectives.  If there are other reasonable ways to achieve those goals with a lesser burden on a constitutionally protected activity, a state may not choose the way of greater interference. If it acts at all it must choose "less drastic means."
GA District Court order blocking the voter ID law

That's an interesting point about everybody getting a free ID as "equal protection".  That's very interesting.  I like it.

I would also argue that you have unequal protection when mail-in ballots have no requirement for ID when in person voting does.  You have a higher standard of proving who you are in person as opposed to mail-in ballots.  The Albuquerque ID law was overturned on that basis.
ACLU of New Mexico v. Chavez

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by: sonia @ Fri Mar 30, 2007 at 23:32:27 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

Good point about the mail in ballots (0.00 / 0)

of course if you were going to "cheat" an election that would be how you would do it. Not getting hords of illegal aliens to show up at the polls with fake identification, which i assume would mean they had to actually register to vote since you must be registered.

You would do it by getting mail in ballots for people who do not or can not vote themselves, fill them out and mail them in.

Funny how the Republicans go after such a small problem with such ardor while ignoring the real problems of taking advantage of fraud in mail in ballots and paperless voting.

Unless of course you count going after little old ladies who take peoples ballots to the mail box for them.

Prisoner of hope.

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by: comeon @ Fri Mar 30, 2007 at 23:42:30 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

Mail in ballots have always had a higher incidence of fraud (5.00 / 1)

Organized fraud via e-mail ballots is the only voter fraud that really can have an impact.

The carrier laws that the little old ladies where charged with is, part of the charade.  Those were simply education errors.  Those women had always helped their neighbors vote.  They just didn't know the law had changed.

Election Code
Section 86.0051
(g)  An offense under Subsection (f) is: 
(1) a Class B misdemeanor if the person possesses at least one but fewer than 10 ballots or carrier envelopes unless the person possesses the ballots or carrier envelopes without the consent of the voters, in which event the offense is a state jail felony;
(2)  a Class A misdemeanor if the person possesses at least 10 but fewer than 20 ballots or carrier envelopes unless the  person possesses the ballots or carrier envelopes without the consent of the voters, in which event the offense is a felony of the third degree;  or
(3)  a state jail felony if the person possesses 20 or more ballots or carrier envelopes unless the person possesses the ballots or carrier envelopes without the consent of the voters, in which event the offense is a felony of the second degree.

You see the SOS and Texas AG didn't do a good job telling anyone you couldn't have more than 10 voted ballots that you're taking to the mailbox, without signing as a witness to all of them.  If you're doing a massive assist program you have to mark the outside of the carrier envelope with your address.  Those women just didn't know the law had changed.  And this year, there's a bill to change that offense number from 10 to 3 an increasing the penalties to 3rd degree felonies. Zedlers HB1463 does just that.

Do you think they'll try this kind of ID hurdle with military ballots?  Do you think those soldiers have a readily accessible copy machine to scan their paperwork in order to register, or to vote?

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by: sonia @ Sat Mar 31, 2007 at 22:58:46 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

The Myth of Voter Fraud - WaPo guest OpEd (5.00 / 2)

Michael Waldman and Justin Levitt 3/29/07

The Myth Of Voter Fraud
(snip)
Identification requirements often sound simple. But some types of paperwork simply aren't available to many Americans. We saw this with the new Medicaid proof-of-citizenship requirement, which led to benefits being cut off for many longtime citizens. Some states insist that voters provide photo IDs such as driver's licenses. But at least 11 percent of voting-age Americans, disproportionately elderly and minority voters, lack the necessary papers. Required documentation such as naturalization paperwork can cost as much as $200. By contrast, when the poll tax was declared unconstitutional in 1966, it was $1.50 ($8.97 in 2007 dollars).

Congress should use this controversy as an opportunity to address true issues of voter protection. Experts have concluded that the most significant threat of fraud comes from electronic voting systems, now used by 80 percent of voters. Legislation introduced by Reps. Rush D. Holt (D-N.J.) and Thomas M. Davis III (R-Va.) would require a voter-verified record along with random audits to double-check against tampering. It would also bar wireless components from machines that could allow a hacker using a PDA to stage an attack. Lawmakers should also immediately stop pushing ID measures that would turn away legitimate voters.

This Op-Ed ties it all up nicely to the fired US Attorney scandals too.

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by: sonia @ Thu Mar 29, 2007 at 17:23:50 PM UTC

Jimmy Carter supports photo ID for voting (0.00 / 0)

That crazy, radical paradigm of republicanism....

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by: Bob @ Fri Mar 30, 2007 at 00:45:20 AM UTC

to reduce this horrible bill (0.00 / 0)

simply to requiring photo ID for voting is not only wrong but its plainly misleading.

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by: David Mauro @ Fri Mar 30, 2007 at 01:16:35 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

Be fair to Jimmy (5.00 / 1)

these are his words on the subject. He does NOT support a poll tax, and his reccomendation of an id card would be one that essentially replaces the current voter registration cards with a card that has a picture ID on it and would be free. Please do tell what is terrible about that.

 

MARGARET WARNER: Nonetheless three members of your commission, Tom Daschle noted -- and your report does -- that 12 percent of Americans don't have driver's licenses and he said this still would be a major obstacle, a major hurdle for people who don't, who it is believed tend to either be poor, or urban, or elderly or disabled and he called it a modern day poll tax. Now, what do you say to that?

JIMMY CARTER: That's an error. In Georgia, legislation which I condemn, it is a poll tax because the Georgia law which ought to be overthrown by the courts requires that you buy a voter ID card, which costs you about $20 for five years, or $35 for 10 years. That is a poll tax. We require in our recommendations that the voter ID card be free of charge. And we require that every state have an active recruitment program to go out and find people who are not registered and give them voter identification.

So we really make sure, also, that if somebody comes forward between now and 2010 without a photo ID card, they can have a provisional ballot and after that, they've got 48 hours to go and bring in adequate identification. So we have eliminated almost all the complaints against the photo ID card. 

Prisoner of hope.

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by: comeon @ Fri Mar 30, 2007 at 15:31:28 PM UTC

[ Parent ]