Voter ID, Davis’ Closing Gambit and the Texas Politics of Ebola

By David Brown and Alain StephensOctober 17, 2014 5:19 pm

The month before Election Day is always filled with a wealth of rhetoric as politicians plead their case before the polls open.

This October has been no exception; the sheer influx of information this week alone can be daunting. So Texas Standard’s David Brown sat down with Austin American-Statesman chief political correspondent Jonathan Tilove to sort through the run-up to early voting.

On the Ebola Scare’s Political Effect:

“Anything that takes away from attention of the election is bad for [Wendy] Davis at this point,” Tilove says. “The whole issue is very bad for Democrats, I think, because it continues on the sense that the Obama administration hasn’t been good at protecting the country – whether it’s the border, ISIS, or now Ebola.”

On Wendy Davis’ Controversial “Wheelchair” Ad:

“There were criticisms – I think ultimately people said, ‘Well she has a point in the arguments she’s making in the rest of the ad.’ … I think the point there was that she needed to grab people, and even facing a barrage of criticism was better than being ignored.”

On Texas’ Uncertain Voter ID Laws:

“You had the law, then you had the judge in Corpus saying this is a poll tax and we can’t let this stand. Then you had the 5th Circuit [Court] saying you gotta let it stand, you can’t be disrupting an election by changing the rules at the last minute. … I guess it’s up to the Supreme Court now, with obviously Gregg Abbott saying leave it alone. Early voting starts Monday … right now you would [need an ID].”