Texas’ voter ID outreach slammed
Justice Department alleges attempt to undermine ruling that rolled back ID limits
Advocacy groups and the federal government are blasting Texas’ early efforts to circulate information about the easing of restrictions on voter ID.
AUSTIN — Texas’ early efforts to circulate information about new voter ID requirements are getting slammed on two fronts with opponents accusing the state of misinforming and intimidating the public ahead of November’s election.
The first shot was from the Obama administration, which accused Texas earlier this week in a court filing of undermining a federal court order by releasing “misleading” and “restrictive” information to voters and polls workers.
The U.S. Department of Justice says officials have used news releases, a website and training documents for election officials to narrow “dramatically the scope of voters protected” under an order signed last month by U.S. District Judge Nelva Gonzales Ramos.
On Wednesday, minority groups suing the state launched their own salvo, targeting recent statements made by Attorney General Ken Paxton and Harris County’s chief election official Stan Stanart, a Republican.
According to a court filing, Paxton and Stanart, in separate
interviews to different media outlets, each insinuated they would investigate voters who signed an affidavit to cast a regular ballot — a move that minority groups describe as voter intimidation intended to “chill participation.” Judge urged to act
Now, the Justice Department and minority groups, which include the NAACP Legal Defense Fund and the Mexican American Legislative Caucus, are asking Ramos to hold Texas accountable as the state moves ahead with a $2.5 million court-ordered voter education campaign.
“We’re not going to let the state misinform the public and try to make the standard they wanted for voting in the litigation but lost,” said Chad Dunn, a lawyer representing U.S. Rep. Marc Veasey, D-Fort Worth, and the League of United Latin American Citizens in the case.
The Justice Department is asking Ramos to force Texas to “issue corrections” to already-published materials, change the wording of future public education and poll worker information and ensure television and radio ads “accurately reflect the text of the Remedial Order. Ramos has set a hearing for Monday on that motion.
Separately, the minority groups have requested that Ramos issue an order to essentially try and prevent Texas officials from making future statements that “turn this Court’s remedy into a threat.”
A Paxton spokesman said the Attorney General’s Office is reviewing the documents and plans to file a response by Friday.
The court filings highlight how the Obama administration and the groups suing the state are monitoring even the smallest details of how Texas implements a court-ordered education campaign for November after it’s voter ID law was found to discriminate against minorities.
In July, the full 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, one of the most conservative in the country, ruled against the Texas law and ordered Ramos to mitigate the measure for November.
Ramos has since expanded the types of identification that can be presented at the polls and required Texas to inform voters and election officials across the state about the changes.
The court order is intended to serve as a so-called safety net for an estimated 600,000 registered voters who lacked one of the seven required identifications by the state law. Under the order, it allows people to cast a regular ballot by showing an alternate ID, like a voter registration card, utility bill or a bank statement, and signing an affidavit. ‘Excessively rigid’
Yet, the Justice Department contends that Texas has recast the language of that court order in public education materials and in poll worker documents to limit voting eligibility to those with photo IDs or those who “have not obtained” and “cannot obtain” such identification. The Justice Department argues that standard is “excessively rigid.”
According to a court filing, Texas has refused to change the language to conform to Justice Department’s request and has said it believes to be adhering to the court’s order.
Phillip Martin, deputy director of the liberal advocacy group Progress Texas, said state officials are purposely trying to make it difficult to take part in the upcoming election.
“It’s supposed to be easier to vote. That’s the entire premise of the court case,” Martin said. “But the state of Texas going around saying only in these extreme situations will you be allowed to cast a regular ballot.”