March 17, 2009, AUSTIN, Texas — Voting along strict party lines, the Republican-led Senate passed legislation Tuesday that would require Texans to produce a valid photo ID — or two alternatives — before being allowed to vote. 

The measure was tentatively approved 19-12 after three hours of emotional debate, with Republicans saying the legislation was needed to combat voter fraud and Democrats warning it would rob eligible citizens of the right to vote. 

Sen. Tommy Williams, R-The Woodlands, cited reports of recent electoral fraud in South Texas, whose history of irregularities stretched back at least to the 1948 election that made Lyndon Baines Johnson — and a ballot-stuffed Box 13 — household names. Williams said allegations of voter corruption in the border town of Progreso in school board elections in May prove that the threat of fraud is real. Affidavits filed as part of an election challenge portray a political climate rife with family-controlled electoral machines, vote-buying and voter impersonation. 

"In-person voting fraud is very real. It happens," Williams said. "Texas has a legitimate interest deterring and detecting this voter fraud." 

Democrats said the GOP was pushing the bill to keep would-be Democrats away from the polls. They warn that potentially hundreds of thousands of Texans, particularly the elderly, the disabled and ethnic minorities, will ultimately not be allowed to vote because of the bill.

"This bill targets far too many of us by declaring a crisis that doesn't exist," said Sen. Kirk Watson, D-Austin. "This bill makes it harder for honest people to vote. It's wrong." 

Given the GOP's 19-12 majority, the bill's passage was a foregone conclusion in the Senate. But it did undergo slight changes Tuesday. Though the financial impact of the bill was estimated at zero going into the debate, Republicans agreed to put at least $2 million in funding behind a statewide voter education campaign. 

Democrats say costs could climb because of provisions requiring the state to give out free IDs and because the law will trigger lawsuits from opponents. In another last-minute change, author Sen. Troy Fraser, R-Horseshoe Bay, agreed to make it clear that a voter registration card can serve as one of the two pieces of alternative identification for voters who don't show a valid photo ID. 

While Texans already must show either a voter registration card or other identification, Republicans want to strengthen the law. It would require voters to present a photo ID or, absent that, two alternatives that establish identity. Under the new legislation, a driver's license, passport or military ID are among the most common forms of photo ID that would allow citizens to vote. 

Those who don't have a photo ID could produce two alternative documents — including bank statements, mail from a government entity, a marriage license, a voter registration certificate or cards used for obtaining government benefits. 

The bill still faces a perfunctory final vote in the Senate before moving to the House, where Democrats have more sway and prospects for the Voter ID legislation are far less certain.