Lone Star Project

Look for Republican Bait and Switch on Voter ID Bill
Todd Smith’s history points to an eventual double-cross

Read more about Todd Smith's Incomplete Interview

House colleagues, voters and the media should beware of the cynical “bait and switch” tactic that will likely be used by partisan Republican Todd Smith (HD92 – Euless) when the Texas House Elections Committee begins consideration of Voter Photo ID legislation next week. Nonpartisan experts along with every major newspaper in Texas oppose the partisan Republican effort to force voters to show a government issued photo ID to cast their ballot, even if they are properly registered and have a valid voter registration card in hand.

The Bait
Todd Smith, who was passed over for more important, but less partisan legislative assignments, is signaling that he may accept amendments to exempt some voters from the Photo ID requirement and might be willing to phase the bill in over one or more elections. (Source: Associated Press, March 27, 2009 )

Smith hires political operative as lead staffer on Election Committee
Rather than hire an expert on election law or a person with experience crafting bipartisan compromise, Smith put Republican political operative, Steven Schar, on the state payroll as the top staffer on the House Elections Committee. Schar has a clearly partisan and also checkered political work history.

Schar collected over $70,000 in salary from deposed Republican Speaker Tom Craddick’s infamous Stars Over Texas PAC, which spent millions supporting extreme right wing candidates and attacking centrists. (Texas Ethics Commission)
Schar was campaign manager for failed Republican House candidate, Sam Walls. Schar’s campaign for Walls fell apart after a bizarre ethics scandal. (Fort Worth Star-Telegram, April 7, 2004)

House Members Attacked by Stars Over Texas PAC:

Member	Amount Against
Diana Maldonado	$325,000
Chris Turner	$240,000
Valinda Bolton	$210,000
Mark Strama	$167,500
Joe Moody	$163,500
Joe Heflin	$150,000
Stephen Frost	$105,000
Robert Miklos	$100,000
Carol Kent	$100,000
Paula Pierson	$75,000
Allen Vaught	$55,000
Joe Farias	$55,000
Ellen Cohen	$51,197
David Leibowitz	$50,000

The Switch
However, the final version of the bill will be written by a small group of harshly partisan Republican members sitting on a House and Senate Conference Committee where any so-called “softening” amendments can be stripped out. Neither Todd Smith nor Republican House Speaker Joe Straus has signaled any intention to protect a House version of the bill or oppose a final bill that strips out amendments agreed upon by the House.

Todd Smith has double-crossed colleagues before
Four years ago Todd Smith also promised a large group of both Republican and Democratic legislators that he would take the lead and then fight for them on major legislation. He authored a campaign finance reform bill outlawing corporate contributions to Texas political committees. Over 90 colleagues, almost two-thirds of the House, cosponsored Smith’s bill. However, when heavy-handed Speaker Tom Craddick moved to block the legislation, Smith quickly folded, double-crossing his colleagues and allowing the reform bill to die. Smith’s partisanship and fear of extremists in his own party overcame any sense of honor, duty or loyalty to colleagues. (Source: Austin American-Statesman, April 29, 2005)

Now, four years later, even though Todd Smith is Chair of the Elections Committee and Tom Craddick is long gone, Smith has fully embraced the role of in-house political hack by pushing a partisan Voter ID bill and making empty promises to colleagues that history shows he has no intention of keeping.