The Department of Justice Sues Texas over Restrictive Voting Law

The Department of Justice has filed a lawsuit in federal court against Texas over its restrictive voting law. The DOJ’s suit is specifically about the voter ID requirements in the state, and how they disproportionately impact minority voters. This follows an announcement by the Obama Administration that it would be investigating states with restrictive voting laws to see if any are violating Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act. Texas is one of the states that must have any changes to their voting laws pre-approved by the Justice Department, due to a history of racial discrimination. A statement from the Civil Rights Division on Texas’ voter ID law reads:

I would like to thank the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas, Houston Division, for its ruling today that Texas’s photo identification law both has a racially discriminatory effect and was imposed with a racially discriminatory purpose. The State of Texas enacted a voter ID law that – as the court further found – would have a chilling effect on minority voting.

The Department of Justice is committed to enforcing the Voting Rights Act vigorously, and we will continue to carefully monitor Texas; and other covered jurisdictions; for voting changes. We will not hesitate to take prompt enforcement action, including filing suit if necessary, against any jurisdiction that seeks to take advantage of the Supreme Court’s ruling by hindering eligible citizens’ full and free exercise of the right to vote.

A 2011 Texas law requires every voter who casts a ballot at the polls to show photo identification first. The Department of Justice had pre-cleared that law, but it is now also examining whether Texas engaged in intentional discrimination when it passed the law.

The voter ID law in Texas was first blocked by a federal court under Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act, but became active after the Supreme Court struck down that part of the law as unconstitutional last month. In its ruling on the case, however, the Supreme Court allowed other parts of Texas’ voting laws to be challenged under Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act.

The voter ID law in Texas was first blocked by a federal court under Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act, but became active after the Supreme Court struck down that part of the law as unconstitutional last month. In its ruling on the case, however, the Supreme Court allowed other parts of Texas’ voting laws to be challenged under Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act.

Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott has pledged to appeal any rulings against his state’s voter ID law, and is confident they will prevail over the suit filed by the Department of Justice.

Stephanie Toti, a lawyer for the Center for Reproductive Rights, is arguing the case on behalf of Texas against the Department of Justice. Toti told reporters:

The Supreme Court held that it is perfectly constitutional for a state to require photo ID when you go to vote. They also made clear that any remedy must be ‘appropriate’ and ‘narrowly tailored’ by Congress, not the courts. The DOJ’s claims of racially discriminatory effect and purpose have not been shown to be true.

In a press conference, State Senator Wendy Davis said she did not believe the new voter law would survive additional legal challenges:

I think a lot of us had hoped that we wouldn’t see these kind of restrictive laws going into effect immediately following an adverse U.S.