"They said, “We’re sorry, we can’t give you a voter ID card.”
Shortly after her struggle to obtain the identification required to vote in Texas, the Waco Tribune published a front-page story on Ruby Barber’s experience. Two days later, the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) invited Barber back, this time with the promise of a voter ID card.
Upon Ruby and Jim’s return to the DPS office, employees cited the 1940 Census as proof that Barber lives in Texas, and issued her an ElC.
When asked why Ruby Barber wasn’t able to get a voter ID on the first attempt, Texas Department of Public Safety Press Secretary Tom Vinger told MSNBC, “We were able to work with the customer to resolve the issue.”
Vinger said that the DPS hasn’t made changes to their process since Ruby’s experience, but that “when DPS encounters some type of unusual document challenge, we work with the customer to resolve the issue.”
Denton’s plan if DPS hadn’t followed up?
“I was going to go get her a concealed gun license … take her down there and teach her how to shoot my pistol and get her a license,” Denton said. “Because if you’ve got a concealed gun license in Texas, you can vote.”
Ruby Barber cast her ballot on Oct. 22 during Texas’s early voting period.