Senator Eliot Shapleigh - El Paso, Texas

The committee's interim mission is to look into voter fraud, but the hearing was dominated by the question of whether there are any documented cases of "voter impersonation" at the polls – and whether requiring photo IDs would prevent that. (photo courtesy www.brettpodolsky.com)

AUSTIN -Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott has prosecuted 22 cases of voting or other election fraud in nearly six years, and none would have been prevented with a law requiring photo IDs at polling stations, officials from his office told state lawmakers on Friday.

Most involved mailed ballots, which were exempt from proposed photo ID bills that Republican lawmakers twice tried unsuccessfully to pass in Texas, and only one actually happened at the polls, said Eric Nichols, the state's deputy attorney general for criminal justice.

His testimony kicked off a contentious daylong hearing on voter fraud by the House Elections Committee. The hearing occasionally degenerated into shouting matches and accusations, with some witnesses near tears.

"I hope everyone brought their birth certificates and passports today, because we'll be asking about them," said committee member Rep. Rafael Anchia, D-Dallas, one of the Texas House's leading opponents of "voter ID" laws. He asked Texas GOP Chairwoman Tina Benkiser for her identification during committee hearings last year.

The committee's interim mission is to look into voter fraud, but the hearing was dominated by the question of whether there are any documented cases of "voter impersonation" at the polls – and whether requiring photo IDs would prevent that.

Elections Committee Chairman Leo Berman, R-Tyler, has promised to file new voter ID legislation.

The divisive issue has gained national traction as three states passed such laws, researchers struggle to measure their effects, and some advocacy groups challenge them in court.

Proponents insist that requiring a photo ID or multiple nonphoto IDs – such as utility bills – would reduce fraud and increase turnout. Opponents say it would disenfranchise minorities, the poor and the elderly, who tend to vote Democratic.

One study found that voter turnout increased 2 percent in Indiana after that state's law went into effect. Proponents cited it as evidence that photo IDs boost confidence in the voting system.

But Toby Moore, an elections researcher at the nonpartisan research group RTI International, disputed the study Friday' hearing, saying there's no way to prove the correlation or to interpret the results.

County elections officials from Bexar, Tarrant, Travis, Comal and Starr counties said they'd only seen a few – and in some counties, no – cases of voter impersonation that could have been prevented with an ID requirement. Harris County Tax Assessor-Collector Paul Bettencourt, a GOP party stalwart, brought in boxes of what he said was documentation of voter fraud but acknowledged under questioning from Mr. Anchia that most of it didn't occur at the polls.

Mr. Berman raised his voice at Mr. Anchia, and committee member Lon Burnam, a Fort Worth Democrat, accused the chairman of suppressing information.

During a particularly pointed line of questioning, Mr. Burnam accused ID supporters of trying to disenfranchise voters.

"Rather than being based in fact, this entire issue has been promulgated for the purposes of undermining public confidence in the system, and I'm accusing you of being guilty," Mr. Burnam told Ms. Benkiser from the dais.

Visibly angry, Ms. Benkiser leaned forward in the witness chair.

"I don't know why you would make that accusation, but I unequivocally deny it," she said, voice shaking. "I do get passionate about this issue, and I should. Every single voter should."