The Houston Chronicle has this editorial suggesting Democrats shouldn’t waste time fighting over Voter ID anymore:
More at the link above. State Representative Debbie Riddle is sponsoring the Voter ID bill and it is fast tracked to passage. As I and others familiar with the Justice Department have written, it would be wise for Texas to bypass DOJ approval of the Voter ID law and go straight to the United States District Court for approval. This Justice Department is looking for a Voter ID bill to object to. Texas cannot get a neutral and fair review of whatever bill passes. It would be cheaper and more efficient to go straight to court. Just ask the State of Georgia. They have figured out how to get approval of new voting laws – go straight to court and bypass the Section 5 review process. Texas should also if they want their voter identification law to become effective.
“I would respectfully suggest to my Democratic friends that it is time to punt on this issue and get it behind us. There are three reasons why this would be advantageous to them.
First, the American people are overwhelmingly in favor of it. Opinion polls consistently show that 70 percent to 80 percent of Americans favor some kind of voter identification at the polls. At that level, it is not only Republicans who think this is a good idea. Most independents and even a fair number of Democrats favor it as well. As a general proposition, it is not good politics to defy 70 percent to 80 percent of the American people.”