Texas prepares for court over voter ID law

WASHINGTON ? Texas is preparing for a legal showdown next month in federal court over a new voter photo ID law passed by the Legislature.

The law was blocked by the Justice Department over claims that it discriminates against minority voters.

?We objected to a photo ID requirement in Texas because it would have had a disproportionate impact on Hispanic voters,? U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder explained to a conference of black clergy in a speech about the continued need of protections under the Voting Rights Act.

Despite legal maneuvering by Texas and Justice Department lawyers, a three-judge U.S. District Court panel has cleared the docket for a July 9 trial. And it remains questionable whether the new law can be implemented in Texas by the November general election.

Texas joins South Carolina as states that have filed lawsuits challenging the Justice Department's rejection of voter ID laws.

The states claim that the Obama administration is overreaching in its opposition to voter ID laws, which have been found to be constitutional by the U.S. Supreme Court.

?Texas should not be treated differently and must have the same authority as other states to protect the integrity of our elections,? Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott said.

Minority-rights groups have sided with the Justice Department, saying the Texas law, which requires a valid photo ID, is aimed at suppressing voting by African Americans, Hispanics and other minorities.

Holder said a similar law in South Carolina was blocked by the Justice Department because it would have placed an unfair burden on nonwhite voters.

In both cases, the Justice Department blocked the laws by not granting a clearance under Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act, which requires states, most of them in the South, with a historical pattern of discrimination to ?preclear? changes in voting laws or political lines.

?The past two years have brought nearly two dozen new state laws and executive orders, from more than a dozen states, that could make it significantly harder for eligible voters to cast ballots in 2012,? Holder said.

Texas, like several states, is challenging the Justice Department's authority to deny preclearance.

In documents filed in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, Abbott has questioned whether Section 5 remains applicable.

If a decision by a three-judge federal panel on a motion challenging Section 5 goes against Texas, it is expected that the state will ask the U.S. Supreme Court to intervene.

A challenge to Section 5 by Alabama was upheld last month by the District of Columbia Circuit Court.

In that decision, U.S. Appeals Court Judge David Tatel wrote that Congress acted accordingly with the Voting Rights Act to end racial discrimination in voting, which he called ?one of the greatest evils.?

Tatel is a member of the three-judge panel hearing the Texas voter photo ID case.

Justice Department lawyer Elizabeth Westfall told the panel this year that the case could not be resolved in time for Texas elections because of the time needed for depositions and gathering of other data.

Texas sought to block the Justice Department from deposing legislators who wrote the law.

The judicial panel sternly told Justice Department lawyers to work toward a quick resolution and ordered Texas lawyers to stop tactics that the panel said were designed to delay the case.

Under the Texas law, a voter must have an ID with a photo issued by the military or the state. A concealed gun permit will suffice, but not an identification card from a university or college.

Texas Republicans passed the law last year, citing the need to protect against voter fraud.

Minority groups claim the new law would discriminate and make it harder for minorities, the elderly, the disabled and others to travel to get valid IDs to vote.

The National Conference of State Legislatures, which tracks voter ID laws, reported that there is little evidence to bolster either claims of voter fraud or discrimination.

Republican lawmakers note that voter ID laws passed by Indiana and Georgia in 2003 have remained on the books without successful legal challenge.

?The Texas proposal was based on a similar law passed by the Indiana Legislature, which was upheld by the Supreme Court in 2008,? said Rep. Lamar Smith, R-San Antonio, chairman of the House Judiciary Committee.

?The administration's actions aren't just wrong, they are arrogant, undemocratic and an insult to the rule of law,? Smith said.

Nine lawsuits, including one by Texas, have been filed in the past two years challenging the constitutionality of Section 5 authority to preclear changes to voting laws and procedures, according to the Justice Department.

Those lawsuits claim that electoral equality has been achieved in states, including Texas.

Holder said that in reality, ?both overt and subtle forms of discrimination remain all too common.?

Minority groups in South Texas have sided with the Justice Department in its support of Section 5 preclearance to prevent racial discrimination of African American and Hispanic voters.

Rep. Henry Cuellar, D-Laredo, said that while the state has made headway on electoral equality, more needs to be done to prevent discrimination.

?When they talk about racism,? Cuellar said, ?there are still problems out there.?

gmartin@express-news.net

crossbow airhead atherosclerosis steven tyler tropic thunder carnie wilson missing