San Antonio leaders, residents outraged after former mayor Lila Cockrell isn’t allowed to vote

The 97-year-old former mayor of San Antonio was turned away for lack of identification, required under Texas law. The 97-year-old former mayor of San Antonio was turned away for lack of identification, required under Texas law. Photo: Bob Owen /San Antonio Express-News Photo: Bob Owen /San Antonio Express-News Image 1 of / 93 Caption Close San Antonio leaders, residents outraged after former mayor Lila Cockrell isn’t allowed to vote 1 / 93 Back to Gallery

Outrage over Texas’ voter ID law was reignited in San Antonio on Thursday after the city’s 97-year-old former mayor was turned away from a polling site for lack of identification.

Lila Cockrell was one of more than 12,000 people who flocked to the polls Wednesday to vote in San Antonio’s mayoral runoffs, but she didn’t get to cast a ballot when she couldn’t present an authorized form of ID.

“I’m 97, I don’t drive anymore,” said Cockrell, San Antonio’s first female mayor. “I haven’t been on a cruise or anything in years.”

Jacque Callanen, the elections administrator in Bexar County, said the incident was unfortunate, but officials don’t have the same discretion they had in the past.

“It was uncomfortable for the election officials to tell her, ‘No.’ Obviously, they knew who she was,” Callanen said. “But the law is the law. The election officials did what they’re supposed to do.”

There previously was a method for election officials to account for people they know personally, Callanen said. But that discretion was removed as the state tightened ID requirements.

“There was always a provision when someone came into vote that if election officials knew who that person was, they just checked a box if they didn’t have an ID,” Callenen said. “That’s how it used to be. They took that provision away.”

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The episode sparked indignation among officials in San Antonio, a Democratic stronghold where Texas’ stringent voting requirements have long been met with skepticism and legal challenges.

Henry Cisneros, another former mayor, called the situation with Cockrell “a horrible incident” while speaking at a North San Antonio Chamber of Commerce luncheon on Thursday.

“She was sent home and not allowed to vote,” said Cisneros, whose tenure at San Antonio City Hall came between Cockrell’s two stints as mayor, noting her age and her well-known position as former mayor. “There’s something wrong with our system here when something like that happens.”

Bexar County Judge Nelson Wolff, who succeeded Cockrell as mayor in 1991, echoed that sentiment.

“You know, that is such a crying shame,” he told the Express-News after the luncheon. “I wish there was a way to get around that. Something should have been done to help her. It’s just terrible.”

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Texas’ controversial voter ID law, first passed in 2011 and then amended after a federal court declared it unlawful, requires residents to bring one of seven forms of identification to the polls. Acceptable forms include a Texas driver’s license, passport and Texas Department of Public Safety-issued personal identification card.

After the law was struck down, lawmakers included an exception in 2017 for people who can’t “reasonably obtain” an ID. Those voters can sign what’s called a “reasonable impediment declaration” and bring a utility bill, bank statement or paycheck to prove their identity.

Lydia Camarillo, the president of the Southwest Voter Registration Education Project, said Cockrell’s experience underscores how the voter ID law makes it more difficult for people to vote.

“I’m not surprised that it happened,” Camarillo said. “I’m surprised that it happened to someone as distinguished as our former mayor.”

The Southwest Voter Registration Education Project was one of the groups that challenged the voter ID law in court. While most arguments focused on the disproportionate affect on Latino and black voters, Camarillo said elderly people are also affected.

The law carries a “hidden” cost because advocates can’t quantify how many eligible voters are turned away and don’t return to vote, Camarillo said.

“Clearly, our former mayor has the right to vote,” she said. “I’m sure there are other folks who may have been impacted, and I hope this story serves to remind them that they have the right to vote (too).”

Cockrell said she brought her voter registration card to the early voting polling site Wednesday but did not have an ID.

On Thursday, Cockrell located her passport, which should enable her to vote, even if it’s expired. Voters can use expired documents as long as they’re not more than four years out of date, but that limit doesn’t apply to people over 70.

Officials from the Texas Department of Public Safety also went to her Terrell Heights condo Thursday to help her submit paperwork for a DPS-issued ID.

Those state officials declined to comment when asked about their efforts.

Cockrell, who was mayor from 1975 to 1981 and then again from 1989 to 1991, said she takes the right to vote seriously. She said she’ll return to the polls again when she can get a ride.

The still-spry mayor even offered some insight into the race.

“Runoffs are always tricky, no matter who the leader was in the first round,” she said. “What it amounts to is who gets back to the polls.”

Early voting for the runoffs continues through Tuesday although polls will be closed Sunday. Election day is June 8.

Staff writer Scott Huddleston contributed to this report.

Dylan McGuinness covers City Hall and local politics in San Antonio. Read him on our free site, mySA.com, and on our subscriber site, ExpressNews.com. | dylan.mcguinness@express-news.net | Twitter: @DylMcGuinness