5th Circuit reinstates strict Texas voter ID law
A federal appeals court has temporarily reinstated a voter ID law in Texas that requires voters to produce one of seven specified forms of photo identification.
The New Orleans-based 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said the law may be enforced to avoid confusion before early voting begins on Oct. 20, report the New York Times, the Associated Press and SCOTUSblog.
The panel opinion by Judge Edith Brown Clement said the law should be reinstated “based primarily on the extremely fast-approaching election date.” She did not indicate, however, whether the law would likely be upheld on the merits on appeal.
Lawyers for civil rights groups challenging the law plan to appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court, SCOTUSblog says.
A federal judge had ruled last Thursday that the Texas voter ID law had a disproportionate impact on minority voters and amounted to an “unconstitutional poll tax.” She found the law was adopted with “an unconstitutional discriminatory purpose,” which could bring new federal oversight of Texas voting procedures, if upheld on appeal, the New York Times says.
