LAURA B. MARTINEZ, THE BROWNSVILLE HERALD
As registered voters across the nation prepare to head to the polls to vote in Tuesday’s General Election, they should be aware of their rights.
Registered voters should be aware that they do not have to present a photo ID to vote. All they have to present is some type of document that serves as identification.
Although Texas had implemented Senate Bill 14 that would have required photo identification to vote, a federal district court in Washington D.C. ruled against the law.
“Texas is not permitted to implement the photo ID law,” Secretary of State Hope Andrade said in a news release. “Consequently, for the Nov. 6 General Election, voters will not be required to present a photo ID to vote in person.”
In lieu of presenting actual voting cards, registered voters may present the following:
A driver’s license or personal identification card issued by the Texas Department of Public Safety. You may also bring a similar document issued to you by an agency of another state, even if the license or card has expired;
A form of identification that contains a photograph and establishes identity;
A birth certificate or other document confirming birth that is admissible in a court of law and establishes the person’s identity;
United States citizenship papers;
United States passport;
Official mail addressed to you by a governmental entity; or
A copy of a current utility bill, bank statement, government check, paycheck, or other government document that shows name and address.
Catherine Flanagan, director of Election Administration for Project Vote, said the law may still be confusing for some people voting in Texas and could determine whether an individual shows up at the their polling place on Tuesday trying to vote.
Project Vote is national, nonpartisan, nonprofit organization that promotes voting in low-income and minority communities. The organization is based in Washington, D.C.
“I do think that voter confusion may result in voters feeling worried or unprepared of going to the polls because they simply don’t know that a voter ID is not required,” Flanagan said.
Cameron County Election Administrator Roger Ortiz said officials have been stressing to both poll workers and the public since the primary election that no photo ID is necessary to vote.
“We have been stressing that” since the law was overturned by the federal court, Ortiz said.
Flanagan said that Texas added to the confusion this spring when the state started sending out voter registration cards that listed the photo ID requirements, although it had not been cleared by the Justice Department.
The Justice Department sent the state a letter requesting that portion be removed from the registration card because that law was not in effect, she said.
“When laws change as this, the state should take extra steps to inform voters about the rules, otherwise the laws that aren’t in effect will have a deterrent impact on voters,” Flanagan said.
Flanagan said voters as well as people working at the polls may be confused. She cited two cases in Texas where poll workers told voters they needed to present a photo ID before they could vote even though the law was not in effect.
Such was the case in Williamson County near Austin where a poll worker asked a voter to present a photo ID instead the utility bill the voter tried to present.
Flanagan said both poll workers and voters should be aware of voters’ rights.
“They should be training poll workers about which laws are in effect and about how the laws operate,” Flanagan said.
“I believe that most poll workers are very well intentioned and they are most likely not being trained if they are demanding photo IDs,” Flanagan said.
Another area that may be of concern is the ballot itself and the “straight party” box. Some may believe if they mark this box, they cannot vote in the races listed on the ballot.
Ortiz said if someone marks one of the bubbles in the straight-party vote box, the person still has the option to vote for another party on the ballot in a specific election.
He said the only time the bubble in the straight party box will count is if a person does not vote in a certain race. In this case, the vote will go to the party the individual selected in the straight party box. READ MORE