Texas Voter ID Law Foiled by DOJ

The U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia dealt a major blow to the Texas voter ID law today, ruling that the law would cause harm to minority voters across the state.

Attorney General Eric Holder released a statement in response to the ruling, saying, ‘The court’s decision today and the decision earlier this week on the Texas redistricting plans not only reaffirm – but help protect – the vital role the Voting Rights Act plays in our society to ensure that every American has the right to vote and to have that vote counted.’

Holder emphasized that the DOJ opposed preclearance of the Texas voter ID law because of its racially discriminatory effects, saying, ‘Under the proposed law, many of those without the required voter identification would be forced to travel great distances to get one – and some would have to pay for the documents they might need to do so.’

The Texas legislature was accused of rejecting reasonable efforts to mitigate these burdens, leading the court to deny preclearance of the law.

Holder also made it clear that the DOJ’s efforts to uphold and enforce voting rights will remain aggressive and even-handed, saying, ‘When a jurisdiction meets its burden of proving that a proposed voting change would not have a racially discriminatory purpose or effect, the Department will not oppose that change — when a jurisdiction fails to meet that burden, we will object.’

The decision is a significant victory for voting rights advocates, who have long argued that laws like Texas’s voter ID law are designed to disenfranchise minority voters.

As the nation moves forward, one thing is clear: the fight for voting rights is far from over. But for now, the people of Texas can breathe a sigh of relief, knowing that their voices will be heard in the upcoming elections.

The ruling is a major setback for the Texas legislature, which had been pushing to implement the voter ID law despite widespread opposition.

In a statement, Holder said, ‘The Justice Department’s efforts to uphold and enforce voting rights will remain aggressive and even-handed.’

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