AUSTIN —
A tough Texas law requiring voters to show photo identification at the polls discriminates against low-income blacks and Hispanics, a federal court ruled Thursday, wiping out for the November election a measure championed by conservatives and setting up a potential U.S. Supreme Court showdown.
In Washington, a three-judge panel unanimously ruled that the 2011 law imposes “strict, unforgiving burdens on the poor” and noted that Texas’ racial minorities are more likely to live in poverty.
It was the state’s second major loss in court in three days, coming after a separate federal panel ruled Tuesday that Texas’ Republican-dominated Legislature failed to avoid “discriminatory purposes” when drawing new maps for congressional districts and both houses of the state Legislature to reflect the Texas’ booming population.
The voter ID decision could set a precedent for upcoming legal challenges to similar laws in other states. South Carolina’s strict photo ID law is on trial this week in front of another three-judge panel in the same federal courthouse. A ruling in that case is expected before the November election.
It also underscores a widespread push, largely by Republican-controlled legislatures and governors’ offices, to impose strict identification requirements on voters. But Democrats say fraud at the polls is largely nonexistent and that Republicans are trying to disenfranchise minorities, poor people and college students — all groups that tend to vote Democratic.
State Attorney General Greg Abbott said he will appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court, “where we are confident we will prevail.” He pointed to past decisions upholding similar “ballot integrity safeguards” in Georgia and Indiana.
Republican Gov. Rick Perry said, “Chalk up another victory for fraud.”
“Today, federal judges subverted the will of the people of Texas,” he said, “and undermined our effort to ensure fair and accurate elections.”
Thursday’s decision spelled out what Texas could do to soften its voter ID law and eventually be upheld in court — but Abbott’s decision to appeal means Texas may be looking for a larger Supreme Court battle regarding the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
Under Section 5 of the act, Texas and all or parts of 15 other states must obtain clearance from the Justice Department’s civil rights division or a federal court before carrying out changes in elections. The states are mostly in the South and all have a history of discriminating against blacks, American Indians, Asian-Americans, Alaskan Natives or Hispanics.
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