Posted on Jan 20, 2022
Why Texas election officials are rejecting hundreds of vote-by-mail applications
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https://www.npr.org/2022/01/20/ [login to see] /why-texas-election-officials-are-rejecting-hundreds-of-vote-by-mail-applications
Several counties in Texas have reported rejecting hundreds of vote-by-mail applications in the past week because of confusion over new ID requirements created by a Republican-backed law that went into effect last month.
The Texas law, known as Senate Bill 1, requires that people provide either a partial Social Security number or a driver's license number on their application for a mail-in ballot — and that number has to match the identification on their voter registration.
The problem is this: A lot of people don't remember what form of ID they put on their registration. That's especially true if they registered to vote decades ago.
James Slattery, senior staff attorney with the Texas Civil Rights Project, says it was obvious this new rule was going to create a huge headache for voters and local officials — which is why he warned state lawmakers about it this past summer.
"It is easy to see the needless chaos and mass disenfranchisement that requiring this matching process will create," he told a Texas House committee in July.
Several counties in Texas have reported rejecting hundreds of vote-by-mail applications in the past week because of confusion over new ID requirements created by a Republican-backed law that went into effect last month.
The Texas law, known as Senate Bill 1, requires that people provide either a partial Social Security number or a driver's license number on their application for a mail-in ballot — and that number has to match the identification on their voter registration.
The problem is this: A lot of people don't remember what form of ID they put on their registration. That's especially true if they registered to vote decades ago.
James Slattery, senior staff attorney with the Texas Civil Rights Project, says it was obvious this new rule was going to create a huge headache for voters and local officials — which is why he warned state lawmakers about it this past summer.
"It is easy to see the needless chaos and mass disenfranchisement that requiring this matching process will create," he told a Texas House committee in July.
Why Texas election officials are rejecting hundreds of vote-by-mail applications
Posted from npr.org
State of Texas
Voting
Elections
Rights
Posted >1 y ago
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PO1 William "Chip" Nagel
..."Under SB 1, not having matching ID information is grounds for rejecting that ballot application, which is what officials in Texas say they've been forced to do lately.
Democrats fail to change Senate rules to overcome GOP opposition on voting rights
POLITICS
Democrats fail to change Senate rules to overcome GOP opposition on voting rights
In Austin, Travis County Clerk Dana DeBeauvoir says a lot of voters have been tripped up by this new rule.
"This is all brand new," she told reporters on Tuesday. "This is all because of SB 1. These are new obstacles for voters. They have never had to deal with this kind of problem in the past."
In a press release last week, DeBeauvoir's office said it had "rejected about fifty percent of applications for ballot by mail that have been received for the March 1, 2022, primary election."
"Many other counties are experiencing the same high rejection rate," officials wrote.
According to the San Antonio Report, officials in Bexar County also found problems with half the ballot applications they received. Williamson County and Houston also reported similar issues.
"This is literally the exact thing that I and many other civil rights groups warned about," Slattery said.
In a press release Friday, the Texas secretary of state's office urged Travis County to "immediately review and re-examine the mail ballot applications in question." State officials said they were surprised to see "an unusually large percentage of applications for a ballot by mail" had been rejected by some counties.
Not many Texas voters can vote by mail
All this confusion is having the biggest impact on the few groups who are even eligible to vote by mail in Texas in the first place.
Texas' vote-by-mail program is among the most limited in the country. Only voters who are out of town, over 65 or disabled are allowed to use a mail-in ballot.
Bob Kafka, a coordinator with a disability rights group called Rev Up Texas, says organizations like his are already fielding a lot of questions about this issue.
"The questions we are getting is, you know, 'What do I put in? How do I do that?' " he said.
Kafka says the new Texas voting law created a slew of new hurdles for people like him. Besides these changes to vote by mail, there are new rules for people who need assistance at the polls. Among other things, voting assistants have to fill out new paperwork and are subject to criminal penalties if they help a voter in ways they did not clear with officials beforehand.
Kafka says all these changes just make it harder for people with disabilities to vote.
"We feel that we have been targeted by the legislature to suppress the disability vote," he said. "Whether intentionally or not, that is exactly what the reality is."
Republican state Sen. Bryan Hughes, SB 1's sponsor, did not reply to a request for comment about the ballot application rejections."...
..."Under SB 1, not having matching ID information is grounds for rejecting that ballot application, which is what officials in Texas say they've been forced to do lately.
Democrats fail to change Senate rules to overcome GOP opposition on voting rights
POLITICS
Democrats fail to change Senate rules to overcome GOP opposition on voting rights
In Austin, Travis County Clerk Dana DeBeauvoir says a lot of voters have been tripped up by this new rule.
"This is all brand new," she told reporters on Tuesday. "This is all because of SB 1. These are new obstacles for voters. They have never had to deal with this kind of problem in the past."
In a press release last week, DeBeauvoir's office said it had "rejected about fifty percent of applications for ballot by mail that have been received for the March 1, 2022, primary election."
"Many other counties are experiencing the same high rejection rate," officials wrote.
According to the San Antonio Report, officials in Bexar County also found problems with half the ballot applications they received. Williamson County and Houston also reported similar issues.
"This is literally the exact thing that I and many other civil rights groups warned about," Slattery said.
In a press release Friday, the Texas secretary of state's office urged Travis County to "immediately review and re-examine the mail ballot applications in question." State officials said they were surprised to see "an unusually large percentage of applications for a ballot by mail" had been rejected by some counties.
Not many Texas voters can vote by mail
All this confusion is having the biggest impact on the few groups who are even eligible to vote by mail in Texas in the first place.
Texas' vote-by-mail program is among the most limited in the country. Only voters who are out of town, over 65 or disabled are allowed to use a mail-in ballot.
Bob Kafka, a coordinator with a disability rights group called Rev Up Texas, says organizations like his are already fielding a lot of questions about this issue.
"The questions we are getting is, you know, 'What do I put in? How do I do that?' " he said.
Kafka says the new Texas voting law created a slew of new hurdles for people like him. Besides these changes to vote by mail, there are new rules for people who need assistance at the polls. Among other things, voting assistants have to fill out new paperwork and are subject to criminal penalties if they help a voter in ways they did not clear with officials beforehand.
Kafka says all these changes just make it harder for people with disabilities to vote.
"We feel that we have been targeted by the legislature to suppress the disability vote," he said. "Whether intentionally or not, that is exactly what the reality is."
Republican state Sen. Bryan Hughes, SB 1's sponsor, did not reply to a request for comment about the ballot application rejections."...
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Oh horrors, people have eight MONTHS to get the correct ID on the application. Do you think they have time?
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