Vince at Capitol Annex reports on Democrat Chuck Hopson’s attempt at a Voter ID compromise which would pair up the DPS photo database and the Secretary of State’s voter database.
If passed, House Bill 2513 mandates that the Texas Secretary of State establish methods to obtain photographs of each registered voter for use on the voter’s voter registration card by entering into agreements with the Texas Department of Public Safety and other state agencies and governmental entities.
It would also alter the Texas Election Code to require that voters submit the voter registration card containing the photo of the voter, a driver’s license or other state ID with a photograph, or an affidavit as prescribed elsewhere in the election code to establish the identity of the voter.
DosCentavos proposed something similar in a fit of anger almost two years ago. I proposed the Drivers License become our Voter ID, using the mag strip. Of course, this would also require that these licenses/IDs become free of charge. And to dare the republicans to love Democracy as much as they say they do, I would require automatic voter registration. The nuances are not all hashed out, though. And, of course, this is only if I’m in the mood to compromise.
I think, much like the Republican attack on Latinos and immigrants, this can and will backfire on them. And like my mentor at SWT, a PhD who used to be a Brown Beret, told me, “things need to appear at their worse for the people to rise up.” This could be our call to arms for 2010.
Ultimately, why is this happening? As UT-Arlington Political Science Professor Jose Angel Gutierrez told a crowd at Lone Star College-Kingwood last year, the numbers are the tell all to the reactionary politics of the Republicans. Chicanos, Mexicans, and other Latinos are growing, as is the Asian community, while everyone else’s growth remains flat. Ultimately, our numbers in urban centers are just about even. The power structure is indeed on the verge of changing, and the resource of political power must be shared, instead of horded by any one group. No longer will the dominant group be able to do what it wants without repercussions, as the demographics will be much more balanced. So, this is one of the lasts gasps of the dominant group, in the form of the Republican Party–for the most part.
Gutierrez also reminded us that how the dominant groups treat the not-so-dominant groups right now will serve as an example of how that group will be treated when it becomes not so dominant. I would like to think that this would not happen so easily as repeating history usually bites one on the hind side. Still, it’s food for thought.
First I’d like to say that in my humble opinion, you are quite correct in believing that this will be just another nail in the republican party’s coffin. Their days are numbered; they are demographically gone and certainly intellectually gone as well. I suppose the only thing that keeps them in business is……Big business, but heard on NPR this a.m., Big business is crossing the aisle. You’ll have a One Party country within 8 years in my opinion.
I’m not a republican; neither am I a democrat nor am I Hispanic, but one issue that I’ve puzzled over is the issue of I.D. from the standpoint of the legal system and Homeland Security. It’s been years since I trod the criminal courts as a criminal defense attorney, but I do seem to recall that the police, (not the most reliable source for legal advice), had taken the position that they could stop anyone, anywhere and ask a person to identify themselves and that failing to produce a photo i.d. would liable the individual to a misdemeanor charge of failure to i.d. Then of course we have the Homeland Security system trying to get “true” i.d. with a single system nation wide and now I see talk of “chipping” these i.d.’s. I guess where I’m going with this is regardless of whether people should have to provide i.d. when going to vote, at some point in the near future, this i.d. thing is going to take hold and we may find ourselves in a situation where children, prior to enrolling in school will need be put through an i.d. process.
And if you’re wondering where I’m going with this, I think the whole issue goes to your point that people shouldn’t have to pay for whatever grand new tamper proof, nationwide registration system and i.d. scheme the gov’t comes up with. We all know how difficult it is for the poor, disabled, illiterate, etc. to navigate the “system” as it is. How in the world are they going to be able to navigate a nation wide i.d. scheme?