Texas asked the Supreme Court Friday to reinstate its strict photo ID law struck down by a lower court - but any action will not affect the 2016 elections.
In July the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled the law violated the Voting Rights Act in Veasey v. Abbott. Rep. Marc Veasey, D-Texas, who is African American, led a class of challengers to the law against then-Attorney General Greg Abbott, a Republican who is now governor.
Veasey is also leading an effort to update the Voting Rights Act in Congress after the Supreme Court ruled in 2013 that parts of the law had to be revised.
There are interim voter ID critera in place for the Nov. 8 elections that critics say are not discriminatory to minorities. But state officials are pressing their case.
“Safeguarding the integrity of our elections is essential to preserving our democracy,” Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, Republican, said in a statement. “Texas enacted a common-sense voter ID law and I am confident that the U.S. Supreme Court will ultimately reinstate it.” The petition is here.
Rebecca Robertson, legal and policy director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Texas, who is opposed to the law said in a statement:
“To be clear, Attorney General Paxton’s petition asking the Supreme Court to reinstate the Texas photo voter ID law will not affect November’s election. Voters without one of the photo IDs specified in the Texas statute can cast their ballot using other forms of ID. But with Texas’s already abysmally low voter turnout, the real question is why Attorney General Paxton would waste upwards of $3.5 million taxpayer dollars (and counting) defending a law that disenfranchises more than 600,000 eligible voters.”
Maria Recio: 202-383-6103, @maria_e_recio