Update:
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) _ Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton says the state’s voter ID law “remains in effect” despite a federal appeals court ruling that it violates the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
The New Orleans-based 5th Circuit Court of Appeals on Wednesday found that the 2011 law had a “discriminatory” effect on minorities. But it rejected a previous district court ruling likening the law to an unconstitutional “poll tax” and remanded the case back to the lower court.
The law requires voters to show one of seven forms of state-approved ID.
Opponents cheered the ruling. But Paxton, in a statement, called it “a victory on the fundamental question of Texas’ right to protect the integrity of our elections.”
He said Texas has held three elections under the law with “no disenfranchisement reported.”
Original story:
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) _ A federal appeals court has struck down Texas’ voter ID law, ruling that the Republican-backed measure first passed in 2011 violates the Voting Rights Act.
The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans said Wednesday that the Texas law, one of the toughest voter ID measures in the country, violates Section 2 of the landmark civil rights law. The U.S. Justice Department had joined minority groups in a drawn-out legal battle that has stretched for years.
A lower court had previously found that the voter ID was passed by the Republican-controlled Texas Legislature with the intent of discriminating against minorities. But in striking down the law, the appeals court did not find the voter ID requirement to be the equivalent of a poll tax.