Poncho Nevárez Files Bills to Counter Voter ID Law

Austin, TX – State Representative Poncho Nevárez pre-filed 3 bills, HB534, HB535, and HB536 regarding the Texas voter ID law enacted in 2011, which was ruled unconstitutional by a Federal District Court Judge in early October. Judge Nelva Gonzalez Ramos struck down the voter ID law expressing that it “creates an unconstitutional burden on the right to vote” and results in “an impermissible discriminatory effect against Hispanics and African Americans” while also constituting a “poll tax.”

Although the U.S. Supreme Court permitted the Texas voter ID law to be enforced in the past elections in November, pending its appeal, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Justice Sonia Sotomayor, and Justice Elena Kagan dissented explaining that more than 600,000 registered Texas voters may be prevented from voting due to lack of the proper identification. Justice Ginsburg also reflected on the evidence provided that demonstrated that many voters would have to travel long distances to obtain the proper identification as well as incur fees to pay for such, thus creating a poll tax.

While proponents of the voter ID law have claimed the purpose of the law is to combat voter fraud, there have only been two convictions of in-person voter impersonation fraud in the 10 years prior to enactment of the voter ID law, as expressed in the court’s findings. In addition to in-person voter impersonation fraud being rare, Texas has one of the strictest voter ID laws in the nation. The Texas voter ID law only allows for 7 acceptable forms of identification.

Nevárez has sought a middle ground with supporters of the law by filing bills that relate to the acceptable forms of photo identification. The three proposed forms are: 1) HB534: an identification card issued by an agency or institution of the federal government or of this state that contains the person’s photograph; 2) HB535: a photo Tribal ID from any sovereign indigenous nation in Texas; and 3) HB536: allowing the elderly (age 65 or older) to use an expired form of photo identification. There are numerous states in the nation that support and accept the IDs mentioned above.

“After the debacle that was participation in the last election, it is evident we need to encourage voting, not hinder the ability to do so, and our legislation allows for that,” states Nevárez.