California Senator Mounts Fight To Counter Voter Photo ID Laws
SAN FRANCISCO (KCBS) - California Senator Barbara Boxer plans to introduce a bill in Congress that would ensure voters in states which require them to show a photo ID at the polls have easy access to acceptable forms of identification.
Boxer said her legislation would force states such as Texas to provide ID cards that are free, or allow voters to sign affidavits saying they are eligible to vote.
"Independent studies are showing in Texas," she said, "six hundred thousand eligible voters will be disenfranchised because of the law."
The Texas law recently upheld by the Supreme Court is one of seven voter ID laws recently passed around the country.
The Texas law raised eyebrows because it recognizes a gun permit, but not student IDs from public colleges, as valid forms of identification.
Boxer said the identification requirements are meant to discourage minority voters, particularly blacks and Latinos, from casting ballots.
"The Republican Party has decided that rather than meet the needs of the emerging voting block, they're going to try and disenfranchise them."
"If a state decides to pass a photo ID law, they need to make sure it's free and they need to get it to you in a timely manner."