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Serving the University of Texas at Austin community since 1900
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Tuesday, November 5, 2013
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STATE
CITY
Impact of new ID law still undetermined
Last week’s floods put city in ‘state of disaster’
By Amanda Voeller @amandaevoeller
Expected low voter turnout in Tuesday’s election might result in an inability to effectively assess the impact of Texas’ new voter ID law, according to Travis County officials. “Is this election going to be an adequate trial run for us to really see what kind of voter ID issues we’re going to have, or is the turnout so low that it’s really not going
to tell us the whole story?” Travis County Tax Assessor Bruce Elfant said. “We just don’t know.” In the early voting period, between Oct. 21 and Nov. 1, voter turnout included only 5 percent of registered voters, Elfant said. One concern with the new voter ID law is that it will prohibit registered voters without acceptable IDs from voting, Elfant said. A list released by the secretary of state names 37,000
registered voters in Travis County who do not have state-issued forms of identification, Elfant said. Elfant said 20 percent of early voters had to sign affidavits confirming their identity, a lower percentage than he had predicted. “Some people have made a squawk about that, but … you don’t have to vote provisionally, so I don’t think that’s a serious issue,” Elfant said. Voting provisionally
means people who do not present a valid form of ID can still vote, but the vote won’t count unless they return within six business days with an acceptable form of ID. In Travis County, four people have cast provisional ballots because they did not have the right form of ID, Elfant said. “My concern is for every 100 people who cast a provisional ballot, how many are going to come back and
cure it?” Elfant said. “We don’t have 100 people who have cast a provisional ballot so it’s not a significant issue right now, but next year in the governor’s race, who knows what it’s going to look like when you have 10 times the people voting?” Renee Frederick, a Plan II and human development and family sciences sophomore, said she was concerned about how the voter
POLL page 2
STATE
Illustration by John Massingill and Stephanie Vanicek / Daily Texan Staff
Check out The Daily Texan’s voting guide for the 2013 elections on page 3 and The Daily Texan Editorial Board’s endorsements online.
By Anthony Green @anthonygrreen
Austin Mayor Lee Leffingwell declared the city a “state of disaster” Monday in response to last week’s flooding events, which severely damaged Austin neighborhoods. Three people were found dead in Onion Creek in addition to at least two other floodrelated deaths. In the declaration, Leffingwell said hundreds of Austin residents have been displaced, businesses were damaged and the city government is incurring extraordinary expenses as a result of the widespread severe flooding and high winds. At the peak of the flooding events, there were more than 1,100 evacuated homes, with 15 deemed uninhabitable, according to a City of Austin press release. The mayor sent a letter to Gov. Rick Perry outlining the flooding’s impact and emphasizing the critical need for additional state and federal support to begin recovery efforts. UT Facilities Services spokeswoman Laurie Lentz said the University did not face any remarkable damage from last week’s severe weather. “[With] heavy rains, sometimes water comes under doors or there’s spot leaks here and there, but there weren’t any kinds of exceptional issues during the flooding that affected other parts of Austin,” Lentz said. The declaration will remain in effect for seven days until it is ratified by the Austin City Council. The last time the city was involved in a state of emergency, the city helped provide housing for victims of Hurricane Katrina in 2006. The council will also consider approving an ordinance waiving permitting and development fees for homes damaged during the flooding events. The council is scheduled to meet Thursday.
CAMPUS
UNIVERSITY
Clothing swap creates gender-inclusive haven
USPS deal shows variety in UT leases
By Leslie Zhang @ylesliezhang
The Gender and Sexuality Center allowed students to experiment with different fashion styles through a gender-inclusive clothing swap Monday. Dance senior Kelsey Rondeau said the clothing swap is a comfortable place for students to try on clothes for all genders without soliciting stares from strangers. “It’s interesting because you can find clothing here from both genders and leave with clothing from either gender,” Rondeau said. “It’s an environment where you won’t be judged for trying on a skirt or a top.”
By Anthony Green @anthonygrreen
Rondeau said when trying on women’s clothes, onlookers will occasionally stare, but shopping is generally more comfortable in Austin. “When I go to Buffalo Exchange, everyone gets excited,” Rondeau said. “But that’s here in Austin. If I were shopping anywhere else, I would be judged for taking a top from the women’s section.” Undeclared sophomore Stephanie Salazar said the clothing swap helps build community. “[The event is] trying to create solidarity within the community by way of expressing ourselves through
The University’s lease extension with the U.S. Postal Service shows the variations in UT’s leasing agreements with non-University entities. Late last month, the Postal Service extended its lease with the University through February 2016, for which it will pay an annual fee of $1. Postal Service spokesman Sam Bolen said the low price of the lease is because the post office provides a public service to the campus and surrounding community. The Postal Service has similar leasing agreements with
SWAP page 2
POST page 2
Amy Zhang / Daily Texan Staff
Window clerk Karen Webb assists finance sophomore Alec Cheung with a package at the on-campus U.S. Postal Service on Monday afternoon.
NEWS
OPINION
SPORTS
LIFE&ARTS
ONLINE
BP commits $4 million to engineering research. ONLINE
Last-minute reasons to cast your vote PAGE 4
Malcolm Brown on track to play entire season. PAGE 6
Eminem’s new album is a disappointment. PAGE 8
Poll shows potentially close gubernatorial race. ONLINE
Is living far from campus worth the lower rent? PAGE 4
Longhorns equipped to make run for Big 12 crown. PAGE 6
Hula hooping is not just for the school yard. PAGE 8
Keep up with 2013 state election results as they are covered and announced at dailytexanonline.com
REASON TO PARTY
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