Senator Eliot Shapleigh - El Paso, Texas

AUSTIN – Supporters and opponents of voter identification legislation in the House agreed on one thing Tuesday – that documented cases of voter impersonation in Texas are hard to find.

That was where the consensus ended, though, as dozens of witnesses testified for and against proposals that would require Texans to show a photo ID – or two alternative nonphoto IDs – to vote. A voter ID bill has already passed the Senate.

Tuesday's crowded public hearing on legislation by the House Elections Committee featured a mostly Republican lineup in favor of the idea and Democrats and their affiliates against it.

Republicans said while there is not much evidence of voter impersonation in Texas, there is no way of knowing how often it occurs because such illegal voting cases are very difficult to prosecute.

"We can't prove there is voter ID fraud. The Democrats can't prove there isn't," said Skipper Wallace, the Republican Party chairman of Lampasas County. "We may have a big voter impersonation problem we don't know about. I think we do."

That brought a quick response from Dallas Democratic Rep. Rafael Anchia: "There are also people who believe in UFOs who have never seen them, either."

Austin attorney Buck Wood, who has been involved in numerous election disputes, told the committee that in all of the election cases he has handled or observed, he has never seen a case of voter impersonation in Texas or a case in which noncitizens voted.

"People who know they are ineligible to vote don't vote," he told the panel.

Wood said if there is voter fraud in Texas it most likely involves mail-in ballots – a view shared by many of those who testified Monday and Tuesday. The various bills before the House committee do not address mail-in ballots.

In pushing for the voter ID legislation, Republicans have argued that the threat of election fraud in Texas justifies new requirements to vote and they cite polls indicating strong public support for the idea.

Democrats, on the other hand, contend there is no evidence of voter fraud in Texas.

Further, they contend that the proposal would discourage voting by seniors, the disabled and the poor – groups that tend to vote Democratic.

House Elections Committee Chairman Todd Smith, R-Euless, noted that a long list of documents could be used to prove a voter's identity under the Senate plan.

"This committee wants to hear from anybody who has none of the documents on this list," Smith said.

Luis Figueroa, an attorney for the Hispanic rights groups MALDEF, said Tuesday that the voter ID bill was "a solution in search of a problem" and he predicted it would suppress minority turnout in elections if passed.

He noted that an Arizona law similar to the Senate bill resulted in nearly 4,200 voters not having their ballots counted because they lacked proper credentials.

But Toni Anne Dashiell, president of the Texas Federation of Republican Women, said data from states with voter ID laws shows no reduction in voter turnout.

"Time and time again, we have seen that common sense photo ID laws improve voters' faith in the election process," she said.

Smith, who has voiced support for a phase-in of any new voter ID rules, said Tuesday that his committee will not vote on the legislation before next week at the earliest.