Voter ID Slumber Party?

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Today’s Senate meeting may have been all process talk, but tomorrow we’re in for the long haul.

The Senate postponed its contentious voter ID hearing until Tuesday morning, when it will open the floor to both invited and public testimony on the issue. The bill, authored by state Sen. Troy Fraser, R-Horseshoe Bay, requires photo identification for those going to the polls, although there are exceptions for those over 70.

Registration for public testimony will begin at 7:30 a.m., so you better get to the Capitol early. It could be a long wait. Each witness’ testimony is restricted to a short three minutes, but the public portion won’t begin until the invited witnesses have given their two cents. When lawmakers took up this issue last session, it took 26 hours to get to a vote. Senators left periodically to take naps during the meeting. This time around, Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst speculates it could go well past 9 p.m. Tuesday night. Watch for senators carrying coffee and snacks.

is an Observer reporter (and former intern) covering women's health, reproductive health and health care access across the Lone Star State. Before joining the Observer, she was a staff news writer at the San Antonio Current. She holds an MA in journalism from the University of Texas at Austin and BA in journalism and Spanish from UT-Arlington, where she worked for three years on her college newspaper. After graduate school, she dipped her toe in public policy communications at the Center for Public Policy Priorities. When she's not at work, she's probably training for her next marathon. You can contact her at [email protected].

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