An assault on the Right to Vote by requiring Voter identification was narrowly averted on the floor of the Texas Senate about 1:30 this morning when Democrats used a parliamentary maneuver and a threatened filibuster (Remember these?) to derail a House Amendment to SB 89 which would have required voters under 85 to present two forms of identification at the polls in order to cast non-provisional ballots. Representative Mary Denny (R-Flower Mound) began her assault on the Right to Vote early in the current session, but her effort earlier was blocked when Democratic Senators united to prevent her bill from being heard in the State Senate. Sadly, she was able to attach her bill as an amendment onto other legislation late in the Session, despite the strenuous objections of Democrats like Mark Strama (D-Austin).
The Austin American-Statesman has a report on its “Postcards from the Lege” blog:
Texans can follow the issue at
Bills like that proposed by Mary Denny have been proposed throughout the Country, and a similar one has already been enacted in Georgia. These Bills unfairly impact minority and elder voters who are less likely to have the required identification.
Due to the differences in the Senate and House versions of SB 89, the issue remains alive in Texas until we rid ourselves of the Legislature when the Session ends Monday.
Here is the letter I sent to Senators Barrientos and Ellis this morning regarding the effect of the 26th Amendment on the right of elder citizens to vote:
Dear Senators Ellis and Barrientos:
Thank you for standing up to Mary Denny’s unconstitutional assault on the right of Texas citizens to vote. I am addressing this to Senator Ellis due to an alert I received from the Travis County Democratic Party and to Senator Barrientos because you are my Senator. While SB 89 unconstitutionally impacts the right to vote of many Texans, I am particularly concerned with its impact on the rights of elder voters in our state, and it may be that in this respect the bill is most clearly unconstitutional. Proceeding further on it at this time would be fiscally irresponsible and constitutionally reckless.
US Constitution, Amendment XXVI, Section 1:
The right of citizens of the United States, who are eighteen years of age or older, to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of age. (Emphasis added)
Mary Denny’s assault on the elder vote violates the 26th Amendment in two ways. First, it has a disproportionate effect on elder voters. Second, it classifies voters by age, applying only to those under 85. Elder voters are by definition “eighteen years of age or older.” Those elder voters who have not yet attained the age of 85 are clearly protected against discrimination regarding their right to vote by the 26th Amendment.
We need to claim this Amendment on behalf of elder voters As a young man, I was a proud member of the age group who won the right to vote when faced with the draft, and proudly cast my first vote as a direct consequence of the adoption of the 26th Amendment for George McGovern. It would be entirely fitting that the work of the young people of the 70’s should, through the last clause of the 26th Amendment, “on account of age,” have lasting import for our senior voters.
Please claim this right on the floor of the Texas Senate on behalf of the elder voters of our State.
Further, ordinary principles of both fiscal and constitutional stewardship and prudence argue that time ought to spent studying the effect the 26th Amendment on Mary Denny’s legislation, rather than rushing the State headlong into a legal battle and potentially wasting taxpayer money in a fruitless attempt by the Attorney General to defend the legislation against an expected constitutional challenge. There simply is no crisis impelling this rush, and plenty of principled, conservative arguments against it.
Thank you both for your service in the Texas Senate and for your attention to my concerns regarding SB 89 and the 26th Amendment to the Constitution of the United States. Please feel free to contact me should you have any questions which you feel I could help you to resolve.
The Constitution belongs to all of us. Claim the 26th Amendment on behalf of our elder voters, who cannot be forced to lose their Right to Vote “on account of age.” My vote as a 19 year old for George McGovern is still not wasted!
