The Texas voter ID “fix” instituted before the November presidential election, which allowed citizens without proper documentation to sign a sworn affidavit indicating why they could not procure one in time, now leaves local election officials considering whether “hundreds” of voters should be referred to prosecutors for abusing the safety net.

The election clerk of the largest county in Texas, Harris County Clerk Stan Stanart told Breitbart Texas, “The solution that the court put into place was not a very good solution. It did not allow my office to challenge voters who were obviously taking advantage of the court’s ruling.”

Texas election officials are now acknowledging that hundreds improperly cast ballots in the 2016 Election by signing a sworn statement instead of showing a photo ID, reported the Associated Press on Sunday. The AP estimated that looking at the largest counties in Texas and approximately 13,500 affidavits submitted, at least 500 voters were allowed to vote without an ID “despite indicating they possessed one.”

The AP reported that one of these affidavits stated, “Did not want to ‘pander’ to government requirement.” Another bore a notation by the election judge which stated, “Had photo ID but refused to show it.” More than 15 percent of voters in Fort Bend County near Houston who submitted affidavits stated they had photo IDs. Judge Ramos’ ruling explicitly prevented election workers from asking a voter why they wanted to use an affidavit.

“Questionable affidavits” from the November presidential election were identified in more than 20 Texas counties. Bexar County Election Administrator Jacquelyn Callanen estimated that a large portion of the 600 affidavits should have been declined, the AP investigation showed.

Given that the improperly cast ballots cannot be reversed following certification of election results, officials and policymakers are left to consider options for reform. One former Justice Department attorney and election law expert notes that Texas should consider retooling the process, but not losing the “safety net” altogether.

“A voter ID ‘safety net’ like in Texas and Wisconsin in 2016 was a valid option to ameliorate hardships some might have otherwise seen. However, it is within Texas’ right to improve this process by allowing only verifiable excuses be given when signing these documents,” J. Christian Adams, president and general counsel for the Public Interest Legal Foundation told Breitbart Texas. “Lawmakers can also design a uniform audit process to better help those in genuine need of voting assistance and expose others willing to flaunt the law,” he said.

Adams warns that letting the issue slide will only encourage future, alleged abuse of the court’s fix, should it continue to be utilized.



“If Austin punts on strengthening the affidavit process, it will only engender a new breed of illegal behavior and leave local officials vulnerable to partisan lawsuits brought for the sole purpose of chilling actions like Tarrant County and others are reportedly considering,” Adams added.

As reported by Breitbart Texas in October 2014, federal Judge Nelva Gonzalez Ramos, an Obama appointee, issued a permanent injunction requiring Texas to return to enforcing the in-person voter identification requirements that existed before the voter photo ID law was initially enforced in 2013.