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HOUSTON — A federal appeals court upheld a revamped version of Texas’ voter identification law on Friday, saying that it does not discriminate against black and Hispanic voters.

The decision by a three-judge panel of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, in New Orleans, overturned a lower-court ruling that had struck down the new law. It was the latest milestone in a yearslong legal battle over the state’s efforts to require voters to show government-issued identification in order to cast a ballot.

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The Legislature then loosened the restrictions last year by passing a new law, known as Senate Bill 5, that allowed voters who lacked one of the seven approved forms of ID to cast a ballot if they signed an affidavit stating why they could not obtain an approved ID. Those voters must show an alternative form of identification, including a utility bill or a bank statement.

Continue reading:  Texas’ Voter ID Law Does Not Discriminate and Can Stand, Appeals Panel Rules

5 thoughts on “Texas’ Voter ID Law Does Not Discriminate and Can Stand, Appeals Panel Rules”

  1. Five times in four years a federal court has found Texas’ voting laws discriminatory:

    http://www.newsweek.com/voter-id-laws-texas-discrimination-voter-id-discrimination-racial-581999

    This is also very reflective of Texas’ long, long history of extremely poor voter turnout rates over the last 2-3 decades. In fact, Texas is one of the leading states in the nation for shitty voter-turnout every election year. I am an 8th-generation Texan, lived here most of my life, and the truth is that minorities here don’t have a huge incentive to commit voter fraud because they honestly have much, MUCH bigger, immediate daily survival threats to worry about than voting on 1 day every 2 or 4 years!!! That’s the reality. Republicans here have manufactured this false “voter fraud” story in order to make licensing — for everything in the state! — near impossible!

    Well, no… that last sentence isn’t exactly true. Anybody in Texas can indeed register and purchase multiple weapons, including assault rifles, .50-cals, howitzers, and German S-mines known here as Jumpin Jellybeaners. Hell, you probably don’t even need a photo-ID to purchase any of those items! My bad for that mis-statement. 😤😖

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    • Thanks, Professor. It’s disturbing, to say the least, that our judicial system struggles to see discriminatory intent when it is so plainly obvious to everyone else (including sponsoring Republicans behind closed doors!).

      Liked by 1 person

  3. I understand that there are some people in Texas that don’t bother to vote because they have more pressing matters of survival on their minds, but what’s stopping anyone from getting one of those 7 approved voter IDs? Confused Canadian.

    Liked by 1 person

    • From: VoteTexas.gov

      Here is a list of the acceptable forms of photo ID:

      Texas Driver License issued by the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS)
      Texas Election Identification Certificate issued by DPS
      Texas Personal Identification Card issued by DPS
      Texas Handgun License issued by DPS
      United States Military Identification Card containing the person’s photograph
      United States Citizenship Certificate containing the person’s photograph
      United States Passport (book or card)

      […]

      Here is a list of the supporting forms of ID that can be presented if the voter does not possess one of the forms of acceptable photo ID and cannot reasonably obtain one:

      copy or original of a government document that shows the voter’s name and an address, including the voter’s voter registration certificate;
      copy of or original current utility bill;
      copy of or original bank statement;
      copy of or original government check;
      copy of or original paycheck; or
      copy of or original of (a) a certified domestic (from a U.S. state or territory) birth certificate or (b) a document confirming birth admissible in a court of law which establishes the voter’s identity (which may include a foreign birth document).

      So John, to answer your question, this doesn’t appear to be a very high bar for voting. Texans who really want to vote should be able to. However, there are other relevant aspects of this new voter id law which need to be pointed out:

      1) It’s a solution without a problem. Study after study has shown that instances of voter fraud are statistically insignificant across America. So, what’s the rationale for voter id?
      2) Civic participation and voter turnout in America are very low especially in Texas. More hurdles to voting would only exacerbate this problem.
      3) Republicans have been caught repeatedly over the last few years boasting to their supporters that new voter id laws will suppress opposition turnout, primarily minorities and the poor.

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