Farouk Shami says he will veto voter photo ID bill
This article originally appears at:
For Immediate Release: Sunday, February 22, 2010
Farouk Shami says he will veto voter photo ID bill but Bill White supported voter photo ID bill in 1997
By DAVID A. DÍAZ
Legislativemedia@aol.com
Democrat Farouk Shami, who has been endorsed by the Mexican American Democrats, says as governor, he would veto (kill) any legislation that would require Texans to have a photo ID before being allowed to vote.
In contrast, according to official legislative documents, former Houston Mayor Bill White in 1997 supported a measure that, for the first time, gave an election judge the power to ask for a Texan for a photo ID before being allowed to cast a ballot.
"When Bill White was chairman of the Texas Democrat Party, he supported a bill that that could be used to prevent Texans who don't have photo IDs from voting," said Shami. "I would never support any legislation that requires voters to show a photo ID."
Shami said he opposes a voter photo ID because there are enough protections in place to prevent voter fraud at polling places.
"Many, many Texans don't have photo IDs for many legitimate reasons, such as if they are disabled, elderly, or poor and so they don't own or drive a car," said Shami. "That's why I would veto any bill that would require a photo ID to vote."
Shami, a Houston businessman and philanthropist, and White, who was chairman of the Texas Democratic Party from 1995 to 1998, are both seeking the March 2 Democratic Party primary nomination for governor.
When state lawmakers met in 1997, White directed Democratic Party leaders to testify on April 23 in support of the measure – House Bill 330.
"Bill White fell into the Republican's trap in 1997 by believing their nonsense that any kind of voter photo ID was a good thing, and now he expects us to believe that he opposes a voter photo ID," said Shami. "Bill White should have shown leadership and vision back then, and never allowed Democrats to support any legislation that involved any kind of photo ID, under any circumstances."
Shami noted that the same arguments against a voter photo ID bill that was bitterly opposed by Democrats during the legislative session in 2009 are the same arguments used against the bill supported by White in 1997.
According to the bill analysis by the House Research Organization, the bill supported by White "would go too far in requiring election judges to disqualify voters who cannot present a registration card or photo identification."
The HRO is the nonpartisan group of legislative staff members who provide in-depth analyses of all major legislation.
The HRO report continued:
"Although most Texans have driver’s licenses, some do not, and these individuals may lack photo identification. The number of individuals who may have misplaced their photo identification on any given election day could be appreciable, and under HB 330, they could be barred from voting. HB 330 would give election judges too much discretion to bar from voting those with as much right as any other to make their election day preferences heard."
