By Shelley Kofler, KERA News
http://stream.publicbroadcasting.net/production/mp3/kera/local-kera-839148.mp3
Austin, TX – Democrats in the Texas House are using stalling tactics to delay consideration of a voter identification bill that was scheduled for a vote this weekend. KERA's Shelley Kofler is in Austin, and reports the tactics may also put other legislation in jeopardy.
(Sound on the House floor)
Friday, on the House floor, there was a lot of talk about drainage districts, a discussion on good congestion medications and plenty of minutiae.
Democrats slowed down business by talking nearly ten minutes a piece on hundreds of non-controversial bills that are usually settled in about thirty seconds.
Veteran Democrat Pete Gallego of Alpine admits the stalling tactic was designed to make Republican lawmakers nervous. Delays at this late point in the session put a backlog of bills in jeopardy.
Gallego: What that does is compresses the rest of the calendar significantly and puts pressure on people, particularly Republicans, who want to pass other legislation.
Democrats oppose Republican legislation that would require voters to present additional identification at the polls. Gallego says Democrats may force Republicans to negotiate further by running out the clock.
Galleno: The idea is, OK, if you really want to pass other legislation, then you really need to back up on this particular bill. It is deliberately designed to make it harder to vote and that's what Democrats are upset about.
Republican Todd Smith of Euless supports a voter ID bill.
Smith: What's creating all of this uproar in our state is really a minor change
Smith backs a bill that's already passed the Senate. It would require voters to show a photo ID or two other forms identification. Smith says the issue deserves a full hearing in the House.
Smith: There is simply no evidence that this approach is going to adversely affect any legal voter's ability to vote. It is important to me that we do what we can do to address the concerns our constituents have about the security of our state's elections.
But time is running short. If the process becomes so bogged down the voter ID issue doesn't reach the floor by midnight Tuesday, it will die.