| Yesterday, Teas House Speaker Joe Straus released Interim Charges to his committees. You can look at them here (.pdf). In a letter to members, Speaker Straus stated, "these charges and the recommendations you develop will form the basis for major legislation we will consider next session."
The following is the third charge given to the House Committee on Elections:
Examine the prevalence of fraud in Texas elections. Study new laws in other states regarding voter identification and recommend statutory changes necessary to ensure that only eligible voters can vote in Texas elections.
Wasn't it already concluded that voter impersonation happens infrequently? Changes, clearly, aren't necessary no matter which way you slice it.
I am upset mainly, though, because Speaker Straus saw how a push for voter suppression derailed plenty of good laws last session. It was his one colossal failure as a first-term speaker, and he wants another go.
Wow. What happened to learning from one's mistakes? The only way I can see this as something other than a repeat of an error is if he feels his position is in danger from the Craddick-Right. Even still, Voter Suppression should be a non-starter with any leader, especially one that fell flat in its wake once already. |
