A Judge Just Struck Down Texas’ Voter ID Law
Big win for voting rights.
A federal court in Texas on Wednesday knocked down the state’s controversial voter I Dlaw and granted an injunction that bars state officials from enforcing the measure.
U.S. District Judge Nelva Gonzales Ramos just ruled that the Texas law was enacted with the deliberate intent to discriminate against black and Hispanic voters.
Ramos said that the law violates the Voting Rights Act and the 14th and 15th Amendments of the Constitution.
The 2011 law was one of the most restrictive in the nation, requiring registered voters to present one of seven forms of government-issued photo ID in order to vote. The original bill had been updated after push back by the courts.
In her ruling, Judge Ramos said that even the updated version of the voter ID law preserved the original bill’s discriminatory features.
“The Court has found that the SB 5 [Declaration of Reasonable Impediment] process does not fully relieve minorities of the burden of discriminatory features of the law,” she wrote.
“Thus the Court has the power to enjoin SB 5 as a continuing violation of the law as determined in this case,” she continued. “The Court thus issues injunctive relief to prevent ongoing violations of federal law and the recurrence of illegal behavior.”
[image via Twitter]
