Voter ID fight in Texas, again

Houston Chronicle:

Both major political parties signaled Monday that neither side is ready to give an inch on the politically divisive voter ID issue expected to come before Texas legislators again when they reconvene in January.

Republicans want to make elections more secure. Democrats, citing the lack of any large-scale fake voter problem, contend the GOP simply wants to make voting harder for Texans most likely to support Democrats - low-income folks, minorities and the elderly.

Eleven states have some sort of photo ID system for voting. Several of them, including Republican-dominated Idaho, allow voters without ID to sign an affidavit attesting to their identity. An affidavit creates a paper trail for prosecution if ineligible voters commit perjury.

But Texas Republicans won't go for that, House Elections Chairman Todd Smith, R-Euless, said Monday after his committee received reports about voter fraud in Texas.

...

The Democrats support of voter fraud makes them reluctant to approve of a common sense approach to voter ID. It also reflects laziness on their part, since it would be easy to get ID at the time of voter registration. The vast majority of registrations occur when people get their driver license anyway. For those who do not, they could get a photo ID at the time of registration, if the law permitted it. Their opposition to voter IF does not make any sense.