Texas Judge Almost Blocked From Voting Because Of New Voter ID Law

[kpete]

A Texas district judge who has been voting for the past five decades was almost barred from the polls Tuesday, thanks to the state’s newly implemented, stricter voter ID law. The law kicked in on Tuesday as early voting in Texas’ November 5 election began.

As she told local channel Kiii News, 117th District Court Judge Sandra Watts was flagged for possible voter fraud because her driver’s license lists her maiden name as her middle name, while her voter registration form has her real middle name. This was the first time she has ever had a problem voting in 49 years. “What I have used for voter registration and for identification for the last 52 years was not sufficient yesterday when I went to vote,” she said.

Watts worried that women who use maiden names or hyphenated names may be surprised at the polls. “I don’t think most women know that this is going to create a problem,” the judge said. “That their maiden name is on their driver’s license, which was mandated in 1964 when I got married, and this. And so why would I want to use a provisional ballot when I’ve been voting regular ballot for the last 49 years?”

Many married women do not update their IDs after taking their spouse’s surnames, as the process is arduous and costly. Women must present original documents verifying their name change, such as a marriage license, or pay $20 to obtain new copies. Under the new voter ID law, these women are potential voter fraud risks.



MORE:
http://thinkprogress.org/justice/2013/10/23/2821651/texas-judge-voter/
http://swampland.time.com/2013/10/24/what-voter-id-laws-really-mean-for-women-voters-in-texas/

[MineralMan]

1. Yet another reason to keep your birth name when getting married.

My wife still has the name she was given after her birth. She didn't see any reason to change her name just because we got married, and I agreed that it didn't make any sense to do that. Just the hassle of dealing with the SS department and the driver's licence organization and other places where names are an important part of your identification makes it good sense to stick with what's on your birth certificate.

And never mind the poorly-hidden ownership implications of changing from your family name to a spouse's name. If I were a woman, I wouldn't do it, either.

22 years this December. It doesn't seem to have made any difference to either of us in any way.

[Triana]

4. This is what I've always told women.

NEVER. EVER. CHANGE. YOUR. NAME.

Forget all the romanticized ideas re: marriage and kids, etc. Just don't do it.

[MineralMan]

7. I'm not really big into telling women what to do.

It's a decision for each woman to make. I supported that decision when my wife made it. I still do. If others want to do something else, that's fine with me, too. It's not my decision to make.

[LisaL]

6. While that might be a reason, women can't very well go back and undo it.

So it's highly questionable whether they will be able to vote in TX.

[MineralMan]

8. That's true. Once the change has been made, it's equally

difficult to change it back, although many women do when they divorce. Not all, but many do that. It's also possible to revert to one's maiden name while married. But, like changing it to one's husband's surname, it's fairly complicated and involves a bunch of hassles.

[CreekDog]

9. she did keep her name --if you followed the story...

texas law at the time of her marriage required it to have her spouse's name.

[MineralMan]

13. I did read the story. Texas - It's a Whole Other Country.

Laws have varied over time, for sure, and this new Texas voter registration law is clearly designed to discriminate against women. It should be challenged in Federal Court.

As for what Texas required with regard to married women's names at the time she got married, I don't know. I assume that she does know what the law was, but the article may not be completely accurate. That's not unusual.

Today, though, and perhaps even in Texas at the time, women aren't required to change their name when they marry. In fact, it's a big hassle to do so.

[BlueCaliDem]

2. Saw this on Lawrence O'Donnell's "The Last Word" last night. They're targeting Mexican-Americans.

Of all sexes.

Entrenched Republicans know that they will lose their stranglehold grip of power in Texas should all Mexican-Americans and women come out to vote in 2014. Women, especially, will be driven to the polls because Wendy Davis, who is highly popular, is running for governor - and she's a Democrat.

But I believe this new voter suppression law was passed to disenfranchise Mexican-Americans the most. They are the fastest growing demographic in the state and they vote overwhelmingly Democratic Party. Just look how influential they were in California in 2010!

White Texans don't want what happened in California, happen in Texas. They want to ensure they don't get voted out of power so they're attacking Mexican-Americans' right to vote in their state. Traditionally, Mexican people usually use both maternal and paternal surnames (combined or hyphened), as Judge Watts points out in the interview, and based on the new law, this will cause the vast majority of Mexican-Americans to be blocked from voting at the polls.

White Texas men in power want to ensure that any demographic that doesn't support them won't be able to vote OR that they vote using useless provisional ballots which have a 50/50 chance of being counted.

This is how a dictatorship works, and Texas is exactly that: a dictatorship of white privileged men. And we can thank SCOTUS for this shit for gutting the most important part of the Voting Rights Act.

There are so many common sense reasons why we need to clean House in 2014, and restoring the VRA to its former power is just one of them. Above all else, we need to ensure we keep the WH and Senate in Democratic hands, because we need to wait out Scalia and Kennedy in order to neuter Roberts' influence on the highest court of the land.

[RKP5637]

5. K&R !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! n/t

[Ichingcarpenter]

3. Where's Holder's Dept of Justice on this

I thought he made voter rights a priority months ago?

[CreekDog]

10. where have you been on this? the DOJ has taken legal action on almost all of these

jeez.

[Ichingcarpenter]

11. So did they reach a settlement like

they did with the banks?

[Myrina]

12. Holder needs to be ALL OVER THIS.

And if not him (because, well, he probably won't be) then groups like the ACLU & Southern Poverty Law Center et al need to jump into the fray post haste.

[whttevrr]

14. I feel like a broken record...

It just doesn't stop, does it?

[Gothmog]

15. It was not that Bad

First, please understand that I hate the Texas voter id law and want to see if struck down. In this case, the judge in question was allowed to cast a regular ballot if she signed an affidavit. From the Time story above

She had to sign an affidavit affirming her identity in order to vote because the last name on her voter registration card, her maiden name, didn’t match the last name on her license. “This is the first time I have ever had a problem voting,” she said.

Read more: http://swampland.time.com/2013/10/24/what-voter-id-laws-really-mean-for-women-voters-in-texas/#ixzz2if37JnhG

I live in the same county as Juanita Jean and her husband is the Democratic Party Chair for our county. At one of the training sessions held by the Texas Secretary of State, this issue was discussed and the Texas Sec. of State made a ruling that is being followed. http://www.juanitajean.com/2013/10/21/whats-in-a-name/

However, when the Secretary of State conducted training for election judges in Austin, Texas, it was made very clear that if a woman’s driver’s license and her voter registration has the same first name, address, and DOB, she can sign an affidavit attesting that she is the same person and then she can vote a regular ballot. I know that’s a hassle that women shouldn’t have to do and we should fight it.

Ask women to re-register to vote in the same name that’s on her driver’s license or give her the information she needs to vote a regular ballot. But, please, pretty please, don’t tell her she can’t vote. Unless she’s wearing a “Ted Cruz for God, Junior” button and then softly inform he that she’s going to hell.

Thanks for your cooperation.

I have confirmed that this ruling is being followed in my county with one of the election judges who is working on early voting. My county's party chairman, aka Mr. Juanita Jean met with the County election office and a representative from the Texas Secretary of State and was told that all election judges are to make every effort to allow anyone with one of the correct forms of Ids to vote. Again, this is consistent with what was told to the election judges who are working the early voting locations. My youngest child is going to be an election judge for our precinct and she is going to confirm that this rule is going to be discussed and followed in my county.

Again, you get to caste a regular ballot and that ballot will count. Signing an affidavit should not be a big deal in that every time you vote in Texas you sign the combination form which is in effect an affidavit as to your identity. After signing this ballot, you will be given a chance to change the name on the voting records so that this name matches your drivers' license. If you do this, you will not have any issues in the future.

Again, I hate the Texas voter id law. This law is designed to keep the poor, minorities and the elderly from voting. The confusion with married women voters is an unintended consequence of a stupid law that is trying to solve a problem that does not exist. The Texas Sec. of State is actually trying to fix this problem.

Finally, I want to encourage anyone who has problems voting to report these issues to the Texas Democratic Party by going to this link http://act.txdemocrats.org/page/s/voter-id