The State of Texas has lost again as it attempts to enforce a law requiring the use of an I.D. to vote, News Radio 1200 WOAI reports.
U.S. District Judge Nelda Gonzalez Ramos, has ruled that a revised Voter ID law, which was just passed in the Legislature, is unconstitutional because it was approved with 'discriminatory intent.'
"The court confirmed what the plaintiffs have argued all along, SB 14 was designed to make it harder for minorities to vote without serving a compelling public interest," said State Rep. Eddie Rodriguez (D-Austin), who heads the Mexican American Legislative Caucus, which fought the law in court.
Opponents of Voter ID laws have long argued that the 'voter impersonation fraud' which they seek to fight is almost unknown at the polls, and the Voter ID laws passed by the Legislature make it harder for mainly lower income minority voters to cast ballots.
Rodriguez blasted what he called 'sinister attempts at voter suppression' embodied by the state's attempt to require certain types of government issued photo ID to cast a ballot, as well as the oddly drawn political boundaries in Texas, which have also been rejected by the federal courts.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton says he will appeal the ruling to the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, which has already thrown out a Voter ID law approved by lawmakers in 2011.
Paxton cited comments by the Trump Justice Department that it supports the new Texas law.
"Senate Bill 5 was passed by the people’s representatives and includes all the changes to the Texas voter ID law requested by the 5th Circuit,” Paxton said. “The U.S. Department of Justice is satisfied that the amended voter ID law has no discriminatory purpose or effect. Safeguarding the integrity of elections in Texas is essential to preserving our democracy. The 5th Circuit should reverse the entirety of the district court’s ruling.”