Surprise: Turnout Up Despite Voter ID Law

Democrats have been warning loudly of the dangers of Texas' voter ID law. But "if voter ID was intended to suppress votes, it is failing as spectacularly as HealthCare.gov," writes Bryan Preston at CNN. Texas uses its off-year elections to approve or reject certain constitutional amendments. In 2011, an average of 672,874 voters weighed in on each amendment. This year, an average of 1,099,670 people did, as turnout jumped from about 5.37% of registered voters to about 8%.

Of course, those numbers are state-wide. What happened in the minority communities Democrats were worried about? Well in Hidalgo County, where the population is 90% Hispanic, turnout jumped from 4,000 in 2011 to 16,000 this year. Cameron County (85% Hispanic) saw a more modest jump from 4,700 to 5,100. "Opponents of voter ID must come up with a new line to attack it," Preston concludes. "The old dog that it suppresses the vote just won't hunt." Click for his full column. (More Texas stories.)