Thanks to a strict voter ID law going into effect on November 5, voters in Texas must present a photo ID with their most-up-to-date legal name at the polls. On the surface, this doesn't sound that difficult.

Unless you're a newlywed—or newly divorced—woman.

According to a recent national survey sponsored by the Brennan Center for Justice at NYU School of Law, only 66 percent of women of legal voting age with access to any proof of citizenship (driver's license, passport, etc.) have a document with their current legal name. Basically, because so many women don't update their IDs after taking their spouses' last name, they will have difficulty voting—if they can vote at all—in the upcoming elections in Texas.

Voters must show original documents verifying legal proof of name changes, whether a marriage license, divorce decree, or court-ordered change. No photocopies. In the absence of original documents, they must pay a minimum of $20 to receive new copies.

Texas, we're not feeling your love for women right now. While there are *some * men who change their names, the vast majority of name changes in the U.S. are by recently married women. (And it's not going out of style any time soon: More than 60 percent of people think a woman should change her name after marriage, according to a Huffington Post and YouGov poll).

There are several ways for this voter ID law to royally complicate a woman's ability to cast her ballot. What if she celebrates her wedding in late October or even in the first few days of November? Yes, she could submit an absentee ballot, but who thinks of that in the days leading up to her wedding? And what about women who have a tough work and family schedule? Do those women really have the time to track down original documents? That's before we even talk about the $20 fee, which can feel like a lot of money to someone struggling to pay her bills, or a woman fresh out of school.

We're just going to say it: These additions to voter ID laws in Texas seem to specifically target women, especially young women, busy moms, and those living close to the poverty level. And these are *precisely *the women who may be voting for changes in Texas that likely run counter to what the men (and it was pretty much all men) who passed this voter ID law—such as supporting Wendy Davis' run for governor. So much for the idea that the support surrounding Davis' marathon filibuster might encourage the Texas legislature to do some soul searching about women's rights.

If you're as steamed up about this as we are, there's good reason: The people who passed this law aren't fighting fair. If they truly believe in what they stand for, they should share it with voters (all voters) and let them decide. Cutting out a large swath of their constituents from the voting process will only make their elections, and the result of those elections, feel incomplete. Perhaps lawmakers in Texas should take a hint from Richard Posner, a federal judge who upheld one of the country's first voter-ID laws back in 2005 and now admits the decision was a big mistake. What remains to be seen is if the Texas GOP can also wise up before women who deserve to have their voices heard are prevented from casting their ballots.

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