On April 28th, the United States Supreme Court, by a 6-3 decision, ruled in favor of election integrity by affirming the constitutionality of Indiana’s photo identification law. In doing so, the Supreme Court rejected specific claims that requiring photo identification is an undue burden on individuals wishing to exercise their right to vote.

Less than two weeks after the Court ruled, Indiana held their primary election. Despite the fabricated claims of voter suppression that the Supreme Court categorically rejected, Indiana’s primary received record voter turnout numbers, and by all accounts, saw few complications arising from their photo identification law. What we can now take from this is the real life example that photo identification works to properly secure the sanctity of our election process without hindering voter turnout.

Texas is in critical need of implementing a secure system for protecting our election integrity and a photo identification requirement is just one aspect of what must be a large effort. The state must also verify voters’ citizenship in addition to their identities. Our state constitution and Election Code are clear: only U.S. citizens may vote. Verification of citizenship status, however, is non-existent. This led the Texas Conservative Coalition Research Institute to find more than 6,700 non-citizens in the state’s five most populous counties who were illegally registered to vote in Texas, some with actual voting history.

These 6,700 illegal voters were discovered on the voter rolls when they willingly revealed their status as non-citizens to avoid jury duty, meaning the full extent of this problem is unclear absent an exhaustive review by the Secretary of State, the state’s chief elections officer. However, with 1.75 million illegal aliens in Texas, the problem of non-citizens’ participation in our elections is potentially vast. Our voter fraud problem goes beyond an extension of our illegal immigration population. In November, the State Auditor announced that over 49,000 individuals are illegally on the state’s voter rolls, the bulk of which being either felons or deceased. And in 2007, an elected official in South Texas was found guilty of knowingly registering non-citizens to vote.

Texas has a long history of voter fraud and unlawful participation that has clouded many election contests with the thinnest of margins. Such stories cry for reform that will protect our most cherished constitutional right and end the current election integrity crisis. That is why this next legislative session I will be joining many of my colleagues in the House of Representatives in supporting a constitutionally sound and proven photo identification requirement for Texas elections. The U.S. Supreme Court has recently acknowledged the benefits of such a law in protecting against election fraud.

As you may recall, the House passed both a voter identification bill and a citizenship verification requirement in 2007, however, both failed to be affirmed by the State Senate. The U.S. Supreme Court’s decision breathes new life into our debate and provides us with new opportunities to adopt a comprehensive election integrity package that, similar to Indiana, protects both our election integrity and your right to vote. As always, it is an honor to serve you in the Texas House of Representatives, and I welcome any questions or comments you may have on this or any other critical state issues. I can be reached at my district office in Flower Mound at 972-724-8847, or feel free to meet with me in person on the first Saturday of every month from 8 – 10 a.m. when I host open office hours.