Free Republic

We want to congratulate the leadership of the House and Representative Mary Denny on a job well done! The photo ID bill in the House has now been attached as an amendment to Senate Bill 89! The Senate will now vote on SB 89 with the House amendments tomorrow, May 26, or Friday at the latest. You have one more opportunity to make your voice heard! Call your State Senator TODAY at 512-463-4630 and tell them to vote to concur on the House amendments to SB 89! Tell them that you believe a person should provide a photo ID in...

Inquiry finds evidence of fraud in election Cast ballots outnumber voters by 4,609 By GREG J. BOROWSKIgborowski@journalsentinel.com Posted: May 10, 2005 Investigators said Tuesday they found clear evidence of fraud in the Nov. 2 election in Milwaukee, including more than 200 cases of felons voting illegally and more than 100 people who voted twice, used fake names or false addresses or voted in the name of a dead person. Election Investigation Photo/Karen SherlockU.S. Attorney Steven M. Biskupic (left), with Milwaukee County District Attorney E. Michael McCann, delivers the preliminary findings of a task force examining possible election fraud at the...

House foes say additional proofs meant to keep some groups away from ballots AUSTIN - The Texas House in a highly partisan 83-63 vote Monday gave preliminary approval to a bill that would require voters to present as many as three forms of identification before casting a ballot.Republicans argued the legislation would reduce voter fraud in Texas, but Democrats said the bill is meant to deter minorities and elderly people from voting.The bill's sponsor, Elections Chair Mary Denny, R-Aubrey, said it is not too much to ask people to prove their identity before voting to preserve the integrity of the...

On Thursday, the Texas Board of Health gave final approval to rules for the state's new informed consent abortion law. The rules include a requirement that a woman provide identification -- which would be kept on file. Abortion rights activists have criticized the proposal amid privacy concerns and questions about whether it's an attempt to intimidate women. A law that took effect Jan. 1 requires women to wait 24 hours before getting an abortion in Texas. The law also requires women be offered printed materials regarding fetal development and the risks of having an abortion. The rules apply to abortions...

Texas women will soon have to provide identification with proof of their age before getting abortions, under rules adopted Thursday by the State Board of Health. Abortion rights advocates decried the new regulation, saying it will intimidate women seeking the procedure anonymously. Anti-abortion activists said doctors need the IDs to protect their patients and to prove that the women are not minors subject to the state's parental notification law. "There are reasons for a doctor to know who the patient is. ... What if there are [medical] complications?" said Allan Parker, chief executive officer of the Texas Justice Foundation, which...

Some Muslim women in Alabama are upset because state driver's license officials are requiring them to remove their head scarves if they want to get a license. "I wear this for religious reasons. I'm not taking it off," La Tonya Floyd of Mobile said Thursday. Floyd said she left a driver's license office in Mobile on Dec. 19 after being told state rules require her hair to be visible in her license photograph. She appealed to the state Department of Public Safety in Montgomery for an exemption for religious reasons, but was turned down, she said. She is one of...

Alabama Muslims Denied Right to Islamic Attire, Says CAIR 1/15/04 12:20:00 PM -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- To: State Desk Contact: Ibrahim Hooper, 202-488-8787 or 202-744-7726, cair@cair-net.org, or Rabiah Ahmed, 202-488-8787 or 202-439-1441, rahmed@cair-net.org WASHINGTON, Jan. 15 /U.S. Newswire/ -- A prominent national Islamic civil rights and advocacy group today called on state officials in Alabama to allow Islamic heads scarves in driver's license photographs. The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) said it has received reports from a number of Muslim women in that state who were prevented from obtaining or renewing licenses because they refused to take off their religiously-mandated scarves, or...

Saturday, July 5, 2003 State Among First in U.S. To Renew Voting Integrity By Rebecca Vigil-Giron N.M. Secretary of State     Two years ago, as a member of the National Association of Secretaries of State National Elections Standards Task Force, I was asked to testify before the U.S. House of Representatives Administration Committee on election reform.     Our nation was still struggling to understand the causes of the electoral disaster in Florida that resulted in a historic intervention of the Supreme Court to decide who would be president.     The travesty in Florida resulted in a long overdue debate about...

ORLANDO -- Speaking softly from behind a black veil, only her eyes visible as they moved from the face of her questioner to the judge, Sultaana Freeman cited the religious beliefs that have brought her into conflict with the state over her driver's license photo. Freeman, 35, who became a Muslim in 1997 and started wearing a veil full time shortly after that, told Circuit Judge Janet C. Thorpe she is opposed to being photographed or being seen without her veil. It was a mistake that allowed Freeman to be photographed for her driver's license wearing a niqab, a religious...

(1010 WINS) TRENTON, N.J. The state has acknowledged a security lapse involving people who seek duplicate copies of photo driver's licenses. Millennium Radio News reported Wednesday that Division of Motor Vehicle officials do not verify who steps in front of their cameras, so there is no way of knowing whether the motorist who requested the duplicate license is the person who had their picture taken. DMV Director Diane Legreide blames the problem on the agency's antiquated computer systems and said there may not be a quick-fix solution. The report also noted that DMV regulations allow the same person to receive...