Tomorrow, Americans across the country will vote in the presidential election. It is their constitutional right, protected by the 15th amendment and fought for by American heroes, from Susan B. Anthony to Martin Luther King, Jr. Yet earlier in the year, the state of Texas attempted to pass a controversial and stringent voter ID law that would have the unintended side effect of disenfranchising eligible voters.
“I think that historical figures like Frederick Douglas would be very offended to find out that after they fought for the right of all citizens to vote, there are people who still won’t be able to vote because of a lack of identification,” senior Alex Van Duffelen said.
The proposed law would require voters to prove their identity at the polls with specific types of photo identification: either a driver’s license, a personal ID card issued by the Department of Public Safety, a U.S. military ID, a citizenship certificate, a passport or a handgun license. Student IDs and any document without a photo would no longer count as a valid form of identification. Lawmakers have cited in-person voter fraud as the reason for trying to pass the law. However, according to a national investigative report conducted by News21, that particular form of voter fraud is extremely rare; approximately 10 cases occurred since 2000, or one out of every 15 million votes. The reliability of such studies has become a political football, due to the difficulty of assembling criminal justice data in this situation.
“The issue of identity fraud is serious, but I think it is ridiculous that the law is restricting what types of ID are considered valid,” junior Joshua Behar said. “There are more important issues facing our election system that need to be addressed.”
Opponents of the law, known as Texas Senate Bill 14, make the argument that the law unfairly targets poor, elderly, young and minority voters, all of whom would be the least likely to have the required forms of ID.
“This law is like Jim Crow laws that restricted who could and couldn’t vote,” senior Abbas Naqvi said.
Under Section 5 of the civil-rights era Voting Rights Act, the state of Texas must receive federal approval before implementing laws regarding changes to the voting process. In March of 2012, the Department of Justice ruled that Senate Bill 14 law did not meet the standards set by the Voting Rights Act, which bars states from passing laws that obstruct the right to vote based on “race, color or membership in a language minority group.” The decision was based on data submitted by the state, which showed that Hispanic voters are much more likely to lack the required ID compared to non-Hispanic voters. The state then appealed to a federal court and in August, the court unanimously upheld the Department’s ruling, saying that the law “imposes strict, unforgiving burdens on the poor, and racial minorities in Texas are disproportionately likely to live in poverty.”
While Texas does provide free government ID cards, the process to obtain one can be costly and inconvenient; residents of the 81 counties in Texas that do not have a DPS could have to drive upwards of 200 miles to reach an office that issues IDs.
“The expense and time involved in obtaining the card is unnecessary and burdensome,” junior Priyanka Parikh said.
Junior Megan Alvarado said she disagreed with the federal court’s ruling.
“I support the voter ID law, because if you’re not a citizen and you can’t prove otherwise, you don’t have the right to vote,” Alvarado said. “But if you are a citizen, it’s your civic responsibility to vote and to make sure that you meet all the requirements before voting.”
