Voting Matters--Securing our elections Apr 07

The Texas Legislature is considering several pieces of legislation that will affect both voter registration and how we conduct elections. I will give you the highlights of some of the proposals.

On the voter registration side, we have several proposals in committee both in the House in the Senate that are seeking additional proof of ID to register.

SB694, HB265, HB245 -- which propose to allow election day voter registration. States that allow election day voter registration generally show a higher turnout at elections. Bruce Sherbet has pointed out that a deputy voter registrar will be required at each polling place. Currently the county scrambles during every election to provide judges and clerks at all polling places, so the extra personnel are not readily available.

HB101, HB218, HB626, HB979, HB1726, HB2319 -- require proof of citizenship to register to vote and show proof of identification when voting. Similar laws in other southern states have been invalidated by the courts and others are under judicial review. This could have an adverse affect on our voter registration project as well as make voting more difficult for poor and elderly voters. Similar laws in other states have reduced turnout among the poor and elderly.

When it comes to voting, several bills have been filed to make voting easier and electronic voting machines more auditable.

SB946/HB942 -- propose early voting by mail for any qualified voter. Western states such as Washington, California, and Oregon have similar laws in force which have increased voter participation in elections. Current Texas law is fairly restrictive on who can vote by mail, so these proposals would expand the franchise for those who can’t or won’t vote in person. Another proposal is for small jurisdictions to hold entire elections by mail. Jurisdictions that allow anyone to vote by mail have seen participation increase over in person voting.

SB1006, SB1247, SB1647, HB65, HB123, HB384, HB527, HB1364, HB3891, HB3894 -- bills related to the use of direct recording electronic voting machines, conduct of elections, recounts. The most significant impact would be the requirement of a voter verified paper audit trail. Some of the legislation would make the paper trail the official ballot for recounts. Given problems with printers and supplies, this would inevitably cause difficulties. Bruce Sherbet has pointed out that recounting using rolls of paper takes much longer than paper ballot recounts. I suspect none of this legislation will make it out of committee this session as most legislatures are waiting to see what Congress passes first.

This legislative session has seen many election related bills filed, but with only a few weeks left in the session most will not reach the floor for a vote, much less pass in a final form. Legislators do not seem to be under pressure to pass reform legislation either by the courts or constituents. Learn more about pending legislation status: Texas Legislature Online Bill Lookup at http://www.capitol.state.tx.us/BillLookup/BillNumber.aspx