Voter ID Free of Cost?

From the fabulous Elise Hu at Political Junkie. Elise is KVUE's political reporter and she's been liveblogging (and live tweeting @eliselive) today's Texas Senate debate on the Voter ID amendment:

7:57pm: Third witness begins. It's Cameron Quinn, who was not ON the Carter-Barker Commission but advised the commission, speaking FOR SB 362. "Photo ID... can enhance confidence," said Quinn. She reads from the Commission's report: "Any required photo ID must be widely available, easily accessible and free of cost."

Give me a break. Free of cost? This has been my question all along: How much will a voter ID program cost the State when we don't have extra budget, and we have a broken educational system, the biggest percentage of uninsured kids in the nation, electricity rates out the roof and no money in our disaster relief fund? There was a ridiculous back and forth between a D and a R senator this morning. Can't remember who it was, but the D was asking the R how much it would cost to implement an education plan for citizens about photo ID. You know, "hey! we changed the rules mid-stream and ya might want to be sure you have a photo ID!" The R answered, "well, uh, they could put a little piece of paper in those voter registration renewal letters, and that shouldn't cost much, don't ya think? I mean, gosh darn, no I haven't thought about the cost of the program, none of us have. Fiscal note? What's that? Oh, you mean before it's time to renew. Hmm. And, like one of those fancy TV commercials state wide? Billboards (psst . . . someone call my buddies at Clear Channel). Oh, well, no, certainly not. We have not given the cost one minute of thought." It's an embarrassment. And, practically a crime. A bank robbery on the state treasury over a non-problem, a non-issue.