State Sen. Troy Fraser (RHorseshoe Bay) has filed legislation to increase voter confidence that only legal voters are casting a ballot in Texas.

Senate Bill 362 would require that each voter show photo identification before being able to cast a vote.

"Photo ID is simply putting into practice the intent of the current law -- that the person who shows up at the polls is who he or she claims to be," said Fraser. "Voter impersonation is a serious crime, but without a photo ID requirement we can never have confidence in our system of voting."

Sen. Craig Estes (R-Wichita Falls) is a co-author of SB 362.

Senate Bill 363 would require a voter applicant to prove he or she is a United States citizen by furnishing a birth certificate or, if the person is a naturalized citizen, furnishing the city, state and year of taking the naturalization oath.

"Voting is one of our most important rights as Americans, but it is also a responsibility," Fraser said. "In no way am I trying to prevent any legal citizen from voting. Instead, I want to ensure that illegal aliens, non-citizens and people otherwise not qualified do not dilute the legitimate votes cast by citizens.

"Each session members of the Texas Legislature pledge to uphold the Constitutions of the U.S. and of this state," he continued. "I take these oaths very seriously, and I believe these measures will secure the voting rights of our citizens provided for in the Constitution and protect those rights from being diluted by allowing people to vote who under our Constitution do not have the right to participate in our elections."