But… but… but… Jim Crow! Poll taxes! Racist!

Via Dallas Morning News:

Early voting for the March 4 primary started without a hitch Tuesday in Dallas County, despite concerns that Texas’ new voter identification law might cause confusion and long lines at the polls.

Nearly 5,000 people voted, compared with 4,200 on the first day of early voting in 2010, the last primary that included a gubernatorial race.

Dallas County has been aggressive in getting the word out about potential problems related to the new law, which requires voters to present a government-issued photo ID at the polling place.

That effort, which will continue in coming weeks, included a mailing of 195,000 notices last month. The notices cautioned voters that under the law, the name on one’s photo ID must match exactly with the way one’s name is recorded in the county’s voter-registration database. Differences in how a name is listed can be reconciled at the polls, so the chief concern is not that would-be voters will be turned away. Rather, it is that filling out the required paperwork will cause delays and create long lines.

Toni Pippins-Poole, the county’s elections administrator, said that while “it was pretty much smooth sailing” on Tuesday, the real challenge for election officials — and the first real logistical test of Texas’ voter ID law — won’t come until March 4.

The Texas law – which Republicans generally support and Democrats generally oppose – requires voters to present one of seven government-issued photo IDs. The approved forms include a Texas driver’s license, a U.S. passport, and an election ID certificate.

HT: WILLisms