Texas celebrates voter ID victory

Court places hold on lower circuit’s block of SB 5

AUSTIN — The state of Texas on Wednesday celebrated what may be a shortterm legal victory in its fight to implement strict voter identification laws. But plaintiffs, who argue the ID requirements discriminate against minorities, say the case is far from over.

The stakes include what type of identification voters will have to bring to the polls in March, when primaries for congressional and state offices are scheduled.

The U.S .5 th Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans on Tuesday put on hold a lower court’ s decision blocking the state from en forcing a controversial voter ID law passed this year.

Plaintiffs hopeful

The stay will remain in place while the three-judge panel weighs the constitutionality of the law, known as Senate Bill 5. The court’s decision does little in the short term, because the new voter ID law isn’t slated to take effect until Jan. 1. The court also decided that November elections will be conducted under voter ID policies used in last year’s presidential contest.

Still, Attorney General Ken Paxton said he is pleased with the decision.

“Safeguarding the integrityof our election process is essential to preserving our democracy, and the voter ID law provides simple protections to ensure our elections accurately reflect the will of voters in Texas,” he said in a statement.

Plaintiffs remain hopeful that a decision invalidating the laws will come out before the 2018 elections. Last month, U.S. District Court Judge Nelva Gonzales Ramos struck down SB 5, ruling that it still discriminated against black and Latino voters.

“We’re still optimistic; there is some disappointment in the granting of the stay,” said Jose Garza, an attorney for the Mexican American Legislative Caucus, a plaintiff in the case. “There’s still a chance the issue will be resolved, so we have the Ramos order in place for major elections in 2018 that are around the corner.”

Voter confusion

Oral arguments before the 5th Circuit court will take place in December.

SB 5 sought to resolve what the courts have called discriminatory aspects of Senate Bill 14, which was passed in 2011 and created one of the strictest voter ID laws in the country.

SB 5 still requires voters to present one of seven acceptable forms of photo ID to cast a ballot. But it allows people without such identification to vote, if they sign an affidavit and bring paperwork, such as a utility bill or paycheck, showing their name and address.

Amid the legal fight, the state agreed to put a diluted voter ID policy in place for the 2016 presidential election, under the terms of a deal between Texas and suing over the photo ID law.

The same policy will be in place for elections Nov. 7, when Texans are set to vote on several constitutional amendments.

Garza said the back-andforth over voting rules is confusing for both voters and election officials.

Confusion over voter ID rules led to delays at the polls in 2016, and some almost erroneous ly turned away, according to a recent report from the Texas Civil Rights Project.