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August 6, 2015

Appeals Court: Texas Voter ID Laws Violate 1965 Voting Rights Act 
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A federal appeals panel has ruled Texas' strict voter ID law
discriminates against African Americans and Latinos and violates the
Voting Rights Act of 1965. Wednesday's ruling came one day before
today's 50th anniversary of the signing of the Voting Rights Act. Texas'
voter ID law is among the strictest in the country, requiring all voters
to bring a government-issued photo ID to the polls. The appeals panel
ruled the law has a discriminatory effect on voters of color. But in a
partial defeat for voting rights advocates, the court also ordered a
lower court to re-examine its previous ruling Texas lawmakers acted with
racial discrimination in mind when they passed the law. If the courts
ultimately do decide lawmakers acted with discriminatory intent, it
could lead to the reinstatement of federal oversight over Texas voting
laws, a mechanism gutted nationwide by a Supreme Court ruling in 2013.

 

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