Once Wendy Davis announced her run for government, Texas Republicans have tried to push out the women’s vote. A Texas law goes into affect November 5 that makes it impossible to vote unless you have an up-to-date legal document proving your name and citizenship.
This problem doesn’t seem like too much of an issue, but the Brennan Center for Justice claims that just 66 percent of women old enough to vote can produce the proper documents required by the new law.
With mostly women changing their names after marriage and divorce, the problem doesn’t affect male voters. Women are forced to find their proper documentation and an acceptable ID, and 99 percent of men are free to vote with no issues. Making it even harder for women, Texas is requiring them to have original documentation the any name change, i.e. certificates of marriage, divorce or court documents. A photocopy is not allowed.
Unfortunately, this is common practice if a party is worried about losing an election. The goal is to prevent any threatening demographic from voting. In this case women have been essentially blocked from voting.