Testimony concluded this month in a federal court case over the state’s voter ID law, which requires voters to present photo identification. Now, opponents and supporters of the legislation await an opinion on whether all eligible Texans would have equal opportunity to vote under the new law.
A decision is expected by Aug. 31 if the law is to be implemented for the November election. If preclearance is granted, the state has promised to issue free “election identification certificates," forms of photo ID for use only in voting, at Department of Public Safety drivers license offices. But opponents argue that some Texas voters, such as those in rural areas, would be forced to drive long distances to get to those offices and that public transportation to some offices is unavailable, making it difficult for many to obtain the identification needed to vote.
But during last year’s special legislative session, state Sen. Tommy Williams, R-The Woodlands, who co-authored the voter ID law, helped to secure more funding to improve DPS services.
The funding has been used to improve existing offices, including the addition of queuing systems in 59 of the busiest driver’s license centers and the implementation of credit card payment systems. An additional 260 employees were authorized, including staff for six new “mega centers” planned to help meet demand in Houston, Austin, San Antonio and the Dallas-Fort Worth area. Four of those are expected to be open by the end of September.
Fourteen rural location offices have also been updated and reopened.
Williams said he expected the issuance of election ID certificates to have “minimal” impact on wait times at the offices.
Still, a report released this month by the Brennan Center for Justice, which intervened in the case on behalf of the U.S. Department of Justice, maintained that “free IDs are not equally accessible to all voters.”
Using the map: Hover over a location's icon to see more information about it in the pop-up in the top, right corner of the map. Black buildings represent DPS offices that are open as of July 24, and red buildings represent offices that are closed.
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Comments (14)
Gritsforbreakfast
Can you provide any insight into why so many offices are closed? Budget cuts? Recent? What's going on with that?
Duane Florschuetz via Texas Tribune on Facebook
Way too many offices closed as of July 24 to provide easy access.
Samdavis
The whole idea is to prevent minority voting.
David Spratt
Many serve in our military and many over the years have made the ultimate sacrifice for our freedom and liberty. Our service members past and present as well as their families have made sacrifices that most would not consider. The % of Citizens who serve prove this out. Voting is not a privilege or a right. It is an obligation and a responsibility of every Citizen. If others can put their lives on the line for this country then the very least others can do is make a short drive and obtain an state issued ID to vote. There will be no IED's along the side of the road or snipers waiting to end your life as you make the journey. You can even stop for a burger and fries along the way.
What is up with all the whining about having to get an ID? Nobody is asking you to crawl on your hands and knees for a hundred miles. Honor those who have given their lives and do your small part to insure the honesty and integrity of our system. Being an American and the continuance of our great country is not a given and should never be taken for granted. You are afforded the luxury of living in the greatest nation ever known, a small amount of time and effort out of your lifetime is not too much to ask or to do.
Hannah Katz
I see a tremendous opportunity for progressive groups like MALDEF, the NAACP and the ACLU to drive folks to the DPS offices if they indicate they do not have adequate transportation. That would make a lot more sense than bringing lawsuits to allow dead people, felons, illegal immigrants and pets to vote, thus cheapening the votes of legal citizens, including minority group voters.
I see where Eric Holder and the Department of "Justice" are now going after the Yankees in Pennsylvania, trying to open their polls to anyone who slithers up to the polling place. But he sure turned free those New Black Panther Party "gentlemen" who were caught on tape verbally assaulting white voters and threatening them with clubs. I guess voter intimidation can only be done by whites.
Speaking of Eric Holder: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P5p70YbRiPw
Rusty Ballard
It's all about preventing voter fraud.
West Houston
Anybody who says they can't get to the DPS station is ignorant or dishonest.
I believe your Racist organizations like NAACP, LULAC and La Raza (THE Race) could mobilize their members to transport those incapable people to the DPS.
Instead, they spew Hate, hoping to be allowed to cheat, as they have in the past.
Holli Hollister
It's being question why so many of the DPS offices are closing? Well, I'll give you three guesses and the first two do not count. Disenfranchising voters of course. I've lived in the Caldwell area for over 30 years and we've always had a DPS office but it's been closed and now we have to drive 30 to 40 miles to get our drivers licenses renewed. If the powers that be have been given extra funding for DPS offices why do they contine to close them and where is that money really goiing? What about the elderly, poor and handicapped who haven't access to computers to renew online or able to find someone to take them?
I suggest everyone donate your time to finding out who needs help in getting their Voter IDs. This is the only way we can insure that everyone who is entitled to vote gets to vote. It's the only way we can overcome the roadblocks the Teapublican's have put in the way of every Texan whose Constitutional rights are being violated.
It's not voter fraud it's election fraud! Research it!
Holli Hollister
West Houston...clearly, the only one spewing hate is yourself and do not think we're all so stupid we do not see it.
Michael Siever
@Gritsforbreakfast It's because so many of those offices are in the process of updating their driver's licensing software, and they are closed until they are up to date. And, if you're thinking what I'm thinking, yes, it doesn't make sense for the state to try and enact a restrictive photo ID requirement for voting when close to a third of their DPS offices aren't even open with less than four months to go before the election. it's all about surreptitiously disenfranchising minority voters while making it look like an accident. But, the truth is this: The Supreme Court has already determined that if your law has a discriminatory effect on a voting population, it will be ruled as unconstitutional, regardless of thew intent and nature of that law's passage, because unintentional discrimination is still discrimination. See LULAC v. Perry (2006). Since it's obvious that the Appeals Court will not grant preclearance to Texas, the Supreme Court will probably rule that if Texas doesn't have the means to accommodate these less fortunate voters, then they don't have the means to enforce the law, and rule it unconstitutional as well.
I love how David Spratt brings up the military analogies. Hey, David, do you know what else the military has that most of the general population doesn't have? Absentee ballots. Do you know where the majority of fraudulent votes come from? Absentee ballots. Do you know what the Texas voter ID law does not apply to? Absentee ballots. Do you know why? Because the military service members overseas, old white men, and the 1% tend to use them the most. And do you know who those people tend to vote for? Republicans. So, of course the Republican-led Texas Legislature will try and exempt its own base from its law. Because it's all about winning for them, while forcing many Democratic voters to stay home.
Ron Smith
The whole idea is NOT to prevent minority voting. It's to prevent unscrupulous politicians from paying illegal aliens to vote at one preceint station and then
transporting them to another station and voting again. Theoretically, one person, or illegal alien, could vote several dozen times because less than 10%
of the registered voters will bother. It's called "stuffing the ballot box". And it's been going on for decades. White politicians would pay poor black people $20 and a bottle of MD 20/20 to do the same thing even after the civil rights movement. I grew up watching this in Louisiana and again here in Texas. Honest politicians finally figured a way around this "problem" and the "illegals" are complaining about havng to come out of the closet now and lose some free money.
It's a wonderful idea whose time has come. Hooray for Texas.
Ron Smith
Mr. Michael Siever, your argument regarding absentee balloting is sound, HOWEVER, all you are suggesting is that a group of a group of a group of a group
of a group is still large enough to change an election. This I do not believe. Have you any numbers to support this claim?
Adele Roberson
I have always thought that the Screeching Republicans do about Voter Fraud is a distraction, nothing but a distraction, and while we are being distracted... Republicans are committing Voter Fraud.
Dan Moore
I looked at several of the red offices in the Panhandle/South Plains area with which I am familiar. The offices showing to be closed are in TINY communities' for the most part, and may have been operated part-time in the first place. For instance, it shows the Slaton Office to be closed. Why would Slaton have an office in the first place?. The Regional HQ is only about 12 miles away in Lubbock. Some of the other closed offices are in towns with fewer than 1000 population and the entire county has only 2-3000 people. Some of the closed offices are in unincorporated localities such as Gail. The people in these tiny communities have to go to a larger town some miles away to transact other business such as shopping for clothing and groceries. While there, surely they can take the few minutes necessary to stop by and get the photo ID, which they have apparently done without for a life time, until this year. I believe that a person who truly wishes to cast a vote will find a way to fulfill the meager requirements to secure the opportunity. What about the tiny population between Kermit and El Paso. There was only one office in between these two cities according to this map and it is closed. It has ALWAYS been somewhat inconvenient for these people to get to a DPS office. WE, as Texans, are accustomed to travelling significant distances as our State is very large. WE arrange to do what we want to do or what we need to do.