Update: 92-year-old Texas woman originally denied photo ID receives authorization to vote
But, literally minutes after SCOTUS gutted the heart of the Voting Rights Act last summer, the section that was used to strike down the law previously, Texas Republicans announced their intention to reenact the law that, of course, they knew to be discriminatory.
As the Waco Tribune reports, 92-year old Ruby Barber has tried, but has so far failed, to obtain one of those so-called “free” photo IDs from the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS), now that one is required for her to cast her legal vote this year, as she has for decades, until now, without a problem.
Barber’s story is heartbreaking and maddening but, unfortunately, probably not entirely rare. The DOJ estimated, based on the state’s supplied data when the federal agency blocked the law in 2012, “the total number of registered voters [in Texas] who lack a driver’s license or personal identification card issued by DPS could range from 603,892 to 795,955.”
More: 92-Year-Old Texas Woman Denied Photo ID to Vote: ‘Not to Be Able to Vote Breaks My Heart’
Woman, 92, With No Photo ID Gets State OK to Vote.
She finally received authorization Tuesday when the state verified her citizenship by finding her birthday amid U.S. census rolls from the 1940s, according to the Waco Tribune-Herald (http://bit.ly/1vHrYjX ). She also showed her Social Security card, two utility bills and her Medicare card.
[…]
Barber said she’s pleased to know she’ll be able to continue to vote.
She plans to be ready to cast a ballot in the 2016 presidential election, “especially when Hillary (Clinton) runs.”
