Voter surveys critiqued in final day for evidence in Texas photo ID case

Today is the last day to present evidence in the Texas voter ID case, and both parties are gearing up for the much anticipated testimony of Stephen Ansolabehere, a Harvard professor of government and expert witness for the U.S. Department of Justice.

Texas state Sen. Wendy Davis, a Democrat from Fort Worth, told the three-judge U.S. District Court that she offered 13 amendments to the photo ID bill, but none made it into the final language.

Many of her amendments, she said, were in keeping with the Indiana ID law, which often is cited by Republicans and lawyers for the state of Texas as justification for the law.

Following Davis, American University professor Allan Lichtman, whose specialty is American political history, offered his analysis of the intent and effect of the Texas law.

He critiqued the state’s survey analysis, saying that the survey expert for Texas made several assumptions that inflated his number of voters who have a valid ID.

Lichtman also said the survey completed by University of Texas government professor Daron Shaw is fundamentally flawed. Lichtman pointed to what he said was Shaw’s over sampling of those who have concealed carry permits and a low response rate as not representative of the Texas voting population.

News21 coverage of this Washington, D.C., federal court hearing will continue this afternoon.

By Annelise Russel and Lindsey Ruta, News21