It looks as if the dominoes continue to fall in regards to voter ID laws. Courts are coming down hard on state voter laws, which are allowing more people to vote and halting any voting loopholes you may see in the November election. North Carolina and Virginia are just a few states changing their laws, and it looks like Texas is next in line.
On Wednesday, The New York Times reported the new laws allow anyone to vote in the November election, even if they don’t have any of the seven identifying documents recognized by law. This may seem a little suspicious, as you might imagine candidates pulling people off the streets to vote for them, but it’s a bit more intricate than you think.
In the past, voters could cast provisional ballots, but if they didn’t come up with a specific form of ID, their votes would not count. Some felt that these voting laws specifically targeted African-Americans and Hispanics, who did not have money to purchase the ID documents. It’s reported that nearly 600,000 eligible Texas voters did not have these forms of ID.
Under the new agreement, voters in Texas who have at least one valid ID card can cast their ballot. If they don’t have a form of ID, they can show a birth certificate, voter registration certificate, utility bill, bank statement or a government check. And they would have to sign an affidavit saying they weren’t able to produce an ID. It may seem like extra hoops to jump through, but the state won’t be throwing out ballots, so it’s progress.
(Via The New York Times)