Voter ID Bill Surfaces in Senate...Briefly

A few minutes ago, Sen. Mike Jackson offered Rep. Mary Denny's voter ID bill as an amendment to House Bill 2339. The voter ID measure would require voters to present a government-issued picture ID at the polling station in addition to a voter registration card. Basically, it's your standard "make it harder for people to vote" bill. Democrats have argued that it would suppress minority and elderly voting.

Sen. Leticia Van De Putte (D-San Antonio) sniffed out the provision. When she questioned Jackson about it, he claimed he didn't know where the amendment came from (which at this frenzied point in the session might be true). He then withdrew it.

Denny (R-Aubrey) seems to be hedging her bets on this. Her voter ID provision is also attached to Senate Bill 89 that passed to third reading in the House yesterday.