Texas Legislature Passed Right Law the Wrong Way
Partisan politics can turn common sense issues into desperate destructive fights. Seeing what happened in Texas recently over the Voter ID bill controversy makes one reflect upon why the general public has a such a low opinion of our elected officials.
The Republican Party wanted to pass a Voter ID bill similar to one that the U.S. Supreme Court recently approved in Indiana to reduce the risk of voter fraud at the polls. To be honest there have been very few cases of voter fraud in Texas and most of those were successfully prosecuted. On the other hand given the growing controversy nationwide that seems to surround every election this was an issue that reasonably deserved attention.
A University of Texas poll carried out in February 2009 found that a majority of whites, blacks, and Latinos agreed with the statement “Do you agree or disagree with the idea that registered voters should be required to present a government-issued photo id at the polls before they can be allowed to vote?” . Some academic studies looking at the effect of this law showed that minorities voted less while other studies showed that it alerted the minority communities and actually increased voter turnout.
After the reasonable discussions of course than came the nonsense from both sides. According to Texas Weekly, Cathie Adams, a Dallas Election judge, said that stricter rules were needed because undocumented workers will have children and that will cause them to start voting illegally. Thank you, Ms. Adams for making it that much harder to advance the conservative cause.
Then Rep. Rafael Anchia, Democrat, said that 500,000 people would not be able to come up with any document that shows they are living in Texas like a utility bill or record of receiving government services. They were implying that the elderly and disabled could not come with a record of Medicaid, Medicare, or other government service that the vast majority of legal residents in that state of health or age would clearly have. Mr. Anchia then said “The Latino community is not stupid,” Anchia said. “You can’t call us fat, ugly and stupid for a year and then ask us to go to the prom with you. It’s just not going to happen.” A speech that will be taught in debate classes statewide I am sure.
In the midst of this debate in a little town of Progreso, Texas a small group of Hispanics become the object of attention of both sides. Maria Leach had formed group called Objective Watchers of the Legal System (OWLS) as excellently reported by the Rio Grande Guardian and alleged that there was some illegal voting going in local elections. She claims to have first hand knowledge of one or more non-citizens voting. Now it is important to point out that so far no official resolution of the allegations has yet been made.
The Democratic Party of Texas including Rep. Anchia immediately claimed that Ms. Leach was giving false information and was a false front for the Republicans. Not to be outdone, the Republican Party of Texas rushed to get photo ops with Ms. Leach on her recent trip to the state capital, Austin, like she was visiting dignitary. She told the Guardian “All we want is a fair shake for everybody. It’s a small town and they are seeing a lot of corruption there,” she said. Leach said she has also heard the argument that the bill would negatively affect minorities and women. “I don’t buy any of that. It just doesn’t work that way,” she said.
State Sen. Juan “Chuy” Hinojosa from South Texas initially echoed Rep. Anchia statements and in fact accused the local Hidalgo County Republican party of orchestrating the events. If you live in South Texas you know the Republican Party in local elections has about as much influence and power as a wet noodle against a strong wind. Senator Hinojosa, however, now appears to have seen the error of his initial reaction and is now saying there is some validity to Ms. Leach complaints. He has not retreated on the Voter ID issue but is supporting legislation which would have the larger county government oversee small local elections to prevent corruption.
In my blog on March 12, 2009 I supported the Voter ID bill as a reasonable measure and still believe it to be so, however, I do think neither the Republicans or Democrats were winners. Instead of applying reasonable common sense both sides were guided by blind partisanship that was frankly obscene. The Texas Legislature in this case looked more like an unruly elementary school of feuding siblings than the revered holder of Texas liberty, justice, and dignity.
Thanks for reading Contempo Magazine blog which discusses issues for McAllen, the Rio Grande Valley, and America from a conservative Hispanic point of view. Tony Magaña grew up in McAllen Texas, attended Texas A&M University, served as an officer in Army Reserve, and holds a doctorate from Harvard University. The co-founder of Contempo Magazine has participated in Valley business for over 20 years. He is a member of the National Association of Hispanic Journalists and also writes for the American Daily Revew
