Page 76 - Impact: Collected Essays on the Threat of Economic Inequality

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a fact that affects their resource expenditures, including whether they want to spend precious financial resources to obtain a photo ID (including paying for necessary supporting documents such as a certified birth certificate) or to feed their family .16 For another, poorer Texans, who generally work in jobs that do not offer paid leave, are less likely to be able to forgo income and take time off work to obtain identification during business hours, when the state offices that issue IDs are open .17 It is thus unsurprising that, as one expert found, poorer Texans will face significant difficulty obtaining photo identification if they do not already have it .18 And, because Hispanics and Blacks are disproportionately represented among Texans living in poverty, Hispanics and Blacks who do not already possess an acceptable and current form of photo identification will face greater burdens in obtaining SB 14 ID than Anglos will face .19
III. Transportation and Vehicle Ownership
In a state as large as Texas, transportation issues can place special burdens on the poor . Many Texans living in poverty do not own any vehicles, let alone reliable vehicles . Those that do own vehicles often lack the financial resources necessary to maintain and insure their vehicles, so many vehicles owned by those with low incomes do not run reliably . Moreover, poor Texans often lack the option of relying on a car owner for a ride to a location that accepts photo ID applications . In urban areas, poorer families making use of housing assistance have been scattered across Texas cities—very few poor urban residents have a reliable car . In rural and small-town Texas, geographic distances can be a substantial obstacle . To add to the problem, many low-income Latino and Black families experience frequent and sudden relocation when they are unable to afford rent or utility payments, cutting them off from individuals who might otherwise provide assistance .20
In addition, out of all fifty states, Texas ranks last in per capita investment in public transportation . This lack of investment has a significant disparate impact on the poor who, as explained above, are substantially less likely to possess motor vehicles .21 Thus, many low-income Texans travel on foot or rely on limited mass transit options, leaving them both less likely to need a driver’s license and more likely to face mobility challenges when seeking to apply in person at state offices for a photo ID .22
Again, expert testimony demonstrated that transportation burdens and vehicle ownership disparities have a direct impact on the ability of minorities and the poor in Texas to obtain a photo ID . Dr . Gerald Webster, for example, took a look at demographic and socioeconomic data and specifically found greater poverty rates and lower vehicle access rates among members of racial minority groups in Texas . Looking specifically at the three largest Texas cities—Houston, San Antonio, and Dallas—Dr . Webster found that Latinos and Blacks were most likely to lack access to a motor vehicle and thus, faced a far greater burden in obtaining a Texas photo ID . In these cities, the share of Black households lacking vehicle access was at least twice the share of Anglo households lacking vehicle access .23
16 Id. ¶ 159.
17 Id. ¶ 158.
18 Id. ¶ 176.
19 Id. ¶¶ 357-363.
20 Id. ¶ 374.
21 Id. ¶ 480.
22 Id. ¶ 373.
23 Id. ¶ 393.
Impact: Collected Essays on the Threat of Economic Inequality