TX VOTER ID LAW

[WTR]

I was heartened to see that TX had a voter ID law ( unlike NM) until I found out from my Sister ( election judge) how worthless the law is. TX will be blue before you know it.

[RoyGBiv]

Care to elaborate?

[WTR]

Care to elaborate?

Sure. I can walk in with my Sister’ ID, say I’m her, and they have to let me vote. I can walk in, tell them I have no ID, tell them it would be a hardship for me obtain said ID,check a box to that effect and sign an affidavid and I have to be allowed to vote.

[C-dub]

Without an ID I think you’ll be given a provisional ballot.

When I moved into Dallas county in 2006 and tried to get registered for the 2008 election it took a few attempts and I was not successful until 2009 or 2010. So, even though I had a TX DL and CHL and a passport, all showing my address within their precinct, they would only let me vote with a provisional ballot that did not end up getting counted.

[Lena]

Last several elections I had to show picture ID to get a ballot here.

[WTR]

And if you had shown your wife’s ID and claimed to be her they would have let you vote.

[WTR]

If I showed my wife's ID and claimed to be her, I would not get a ballot and more likely be escorted to the county jail for ID theft. In my experience, the laws are enforced consistently and fairly. They just don't like LTC for ID because it causes them extra work.

You are very ignorant of the election laws in TX as I was until last night. I had a discussion with my Sister who has been an Election Judge in Austin for the last few years. She has attended educational seminars held for Judges in both Austin and Dallas. My Sister and her husband are as or more conservative than anyone on this forum. I was shocked by the rules she must follow concerning ID.
As a side note she was only one of the two people on her street ( upper middle class neighborhood )which had a Cruz sign in their yard. All the rest were Beto signs and the Beto signs have yet to be taken down.

[Flightmare]

I can't address what your sister told you, but in these parts, the election officials insist on photo id for a real ballot, look at the id, and do this even if they know me personally or professionally. I would add that I haven't seen a Cruz or Beto sign in weeks. They were all down in days after the election.

This has been my experience as well

[oljames3]

I can't address what your sister told you, but in these parts, the election officials insist on photo id for a real ballot, look at the id, and do this even if they know me personally or professionally. I would add that I haven't seen a Cruz or Beto sign in weeks. They were all down in days after the election.

This has been my experience as well

Elgin also.

[strogg]

I think what WTR is saying is that it doesn't matter if a young black male goes to the ballot booth with an elderly Chinese woman's drivers license. Even though he's still clearly committing voter fraud and can easily be prosecuted for it, he won't be in violation of the voter ID law because he presented a valid state issued ID.

[HD76]

When I went to election judge training this year, they did caution us to not use the photo for an exact match. The photos can be over 10 years old. Check sex and see if age is way off. No twenty-something voting as a sixty year old. Other wise the person is trusted that they are presenting THEIR ID.

For the hardship vote, you still have to provide some documentation that has your name on it.

• Valid voter registration certificate (card)
  Certified birth certificate
  Current utility bill
  Bank statement
  Government check
  Paycheck
  Any other government document with the individual’s name and address

You do not get a regular ballot if you can not provide some documentation that is tied to a registered voter in that precinct.

There were a few stories of people finding out someone else voted as them, like Jr and Sr getting mixed up during early voting. There were also some that didn't know who voted as them. In those cases, we were directed to have those people contact the County Clerks office so it could be investigated. I don't know how wide spread that is, it didn't sound like it happened much in Harris County. I didn't have any cases of it at my precinct.

[HD76]

I think what WTR is saying is that it doesn't matter if a young black male goes to the ballot booth with an elderly Chinese woman's drivers license. Even though he's still clearly committing voter fraud and can easily be prosecuted for it, he won't be in violation of the voter ID law because he presented a valid state issued ID.

Judges do not have to give ballots in cases like this where there is an obvious issue. Judges should contact the County Clerks office when they run across a case like this. That doesn't mean they should tell the person they cannot vote, just that there is an issue, and reach out for assistance. They didn't want us turning people away, but also don't want us giving out ballots when things are amiss. This is why we have the county clerks office, and the county attorney. They can help make calls in cases like this.

[HD76]

Without an ID I think you’ll be given a provisional ballot.

When I moved into Dallas county in 2006 and tried to get registered for the 2008 election it took a few attempts and I was not successful until 2009 or 2010. So, even though I had a TX DL and CHL and a passport, all showing my address within their precinct, they would only let me vote with a provisional ballot that did not end up getting counted.

C-dub, you should only be allowed to vote if they show you as registered in their precinct, regardless of the address on your license. This November I had to send more than 50 people to other precincts because they were not registered where they lived. That is fine if you still live in the same county, but could be a real hassle if you moved further away.

In two different election law training classes in different years, they commented on issues with DPS getting registrations turned in. When you updated your registration, did you use DPS? Based on these stories, I always recommend updating your registration online vs using DPS.