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This week marks the 50th anniversary of the Voting Rights Act. This week also marks a watershed ruling by a federal appeals court striking down the controversial Texas voter ID law as violating that landmark civil rights act.
A new study conducted by the University of Houston Hobby Center for Public Policy and Rice University's Baker Institute for Public Policy examines the impact of the contested Texas law in U.S. Congressional District 23 (CD-23).
The study suggests that the most significant impact of the Texas voter photo ID law on voter participation in one particular district was to discourage turnout among registered voters who mistakenly believed they did not possess the correct photo identification.
"One of the most striking findings of this study is that potential voters who did not vote actually did possess one of the valid forms of photo ID," said Jim Granato, professor and director of the Hobby Center for Public Policy. "An important issue to be explored is not just the voter photo ID law itself, but the actual education and outreach efforts to ensure all eligible voters understand what form of photo ID may be used to vote."
Spanning a large geographic area in west and south Texas, CD-23 is a Latino majority district with Hispanics accounting for 65.8 percent of the district's voting-age population and 58.5 percent of its registered voters. It is also widely considered to be the only one of the state's 36 U.S. House districts that is competitive for both Democratic and Republican Party candidates. A telephone survey of 400 registered voters who did not vote in CD-23's November 2014 election was conducted in English and Spanish by the Hobby Center for Public Policy's Survey Research Institute.
The 5.8 percent of the CD-23 non-voters stated the principle reason they did not vote was because they did not possess any of the seven forms of photo identification required by the state. More than twice that many (12.8 percent) agreed their lack of any one of the seven photo IDs was a reason they did not vote. However, when further queried about the different forms of photo identification in their possession, the survey revealed that a much lower proportion (2.7 percent), in fact, lacked one of the seven needed to vote in person.
The study also found Latino non-voters were significantly more likely than Anglo non-voters to strongly agree or agree that a lack of photo ID was a reason they did not cast a ballot in the Nov. 4 contest.
The findings suggest that the presence of the law and its potential impact on the outcome of that election kept far more supporters of Pete Gallego, D-Alpine, the then-freshman incumbent representative, away from the polls than those who supported the district's ultimate winner of the election, Will Hurd, R-San Antonio.
"Our expectation is to build on this initial case study by analyzing additional Texas congressional districts and investigating other states' voter ID laws," Granato said. "Broadening the study to examine the extent to which voter fraud exists is another interesting avenue to explore."
(Score: 2) by janrinok on Sunday August 09 2015, @12:33PM
(Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Sunday August 09 2015, @01:20PM
There are a number of stories, over the years, that make me suspect that Europe is safeguarding freedom better than the US. Many of those issues are tech related. The EU doesn't like the way Microsoft was exploiting it's position in the browser field. The EU doesn't like that Google never forgot an unflattering story, forcing the "right to forget" thing. More governments in Europe are pushing for open source software, jumping off of the never-ending Microsoft licensing bandwagon. The EU actively participates in pushing real broadband out beyond the city limits of the largest cities.
I'm not so infatuated with the EU that I want to move there, but yes, the EU understands some of the basic freedoms better than the US does today.
You people don't strip search passengers before they can get on an airplane - not that I have heard of, anyway. No Department of Homeland Security pushing military equipment on local police forces. Yeah, we have lost our way, in some respects. We are more the "Land of the Fearful" than we are the "Home of the Brave" today.
(Score: 2) by janrinok on Sunday August 09 2015, @01:40PM
Don't worry, we still lead with the number of cameras per capita - so 'smile', you never know who is watching.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday August 10 2015, @08:46AM
They are all located in London, though, there are plenty of places with no cameras.
Heck, we have places where putting up surveillance cameras would simply mean a rise in the number of stores selling stolen surveillance cameras :-)
(Score: 3, Interesting) by Common Joe on Sunday August 09 2015, @03:12PM
Anecdotal story: I'm American. My wife is German. My wife lived with me in America for over 10 years before we moved to Germany. (We moved for family reasons. Not for political reasons.) We found something very surprising -- Germany welcomed me with open arms. For my wife? The U.S. immigration office (whatever name they go by now) was not anywhere near as friendly towards her. She got her green card when we lived there, but it was a fight and they disrespected her often enough. Not everyone was an asshole, but plenty enough to very much sour the immigration experience. And the red tape was insane. Germany -- well known for its red tape -- was a whole lot better.
As an American, I have very ugly things to say about the legal immigration process we have.
(Score: 2) by frojack on Sunday August 09 2015, @07:33PM
they disrespected her often enough
Who even uses that language?
There are a lot of ugly americans traveling the world, but if you really want to see ugly demanding tourists, just hang around german watering holes.
No, you are mistaken. I've always had this sig.
(Score: 2) by Common Joe on Sunday August 09 2015, @03:06PM
I live in Germany. We always have to have official ID when out in public. Even if you're just walking.
(Score: 2) by GungnirSniper on Sunday August 09 2015, @03:23PM
Sounds like America needs to revisit to restore Democracy. Just discover some oil first.
In America the police will give you a harder time not having an ID on your person, if they have some reason to stop you in the first place.
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(Score: 1, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Monday August 10 2015, @08:54AM
And in Denmark - neighboring Germany (that may have something to do with it), they can't expect people to carry photo ID, because we don't have any.
We have a social security card, with no photo, and officially valid only at the doctors office. The only official photo ID are passports, only required for traveling abroad, and costs over $100, so anyone not planning to travel doesn't have one, and drivers licenses, which cost upwards of $2000, in a country that builds bicycle paths everywhere and taxes cars heavily. If you're not going to the doctors, and not driving a car, you have no reason to bring either.
(Score: 1, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday August 09 2015, @04:54PM
> I only rarely have to carry any documentation - perhaps things are better in Europe than we think they are.
I don't think it will come as a surprise to you to learn that runaway is exaggerating.
For one thing, his list of the four outcomes for failure to exhibit a license is missing the most common enforcement case - a "fixit ticket" which is basically a requirement to show proof to the court that you have a license. It is the same severity as a ticket for driving with a broken headlight - once you correct it you don't even owe a fine. Furthermore, his wording is consistently about proof of identity and that is incorrect, it is about proof of licensing. Those two things are related, but proving your identity does not necessarily prove you are licensed to operate a vehicle. You can't just show a cop your passport in lieu of a license.
(Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Sunday August 09 2015, @09:58PM
With no ID, how can the cop be sure who he is writing the ticket for/to? What good is a ticket, written out with a fictitious name on it? If the cop isn't at least half sure who the hell you are, you're going to jail. Either the cop knows who you are, or you have some convincing BS, or someone happens by to vouch for you.
Warning ticket - written out to John Doe?
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday August 09 2015, @09:35PM
I don't understand the GP's point. The only times I've needed, absolutely needed, government issued ID in the past few years has been: Proof of age, getting on an airplane, crossing the US border (and back) and shockingly the last time, voting.
I need the credit/ATM card ids issued by banks to access money, etc. But not governmental ID.