Appeals court strikes down 'discriminatory' Texas voter ID law

[Draggingtree]

Reuters

Wed Aug 5, 2015 5:26pm EDT

Related: POLITICS

 

Appeals court strikes down 'discriminatory' Texas voter ID law

 

AUSTIN, TEXAS | BY JON HERSKOVITZ

 

A U.S. appeals court struck down a Texas law on Wednesday requiring voters to show authorized identification before casting ballots, saying the measure violated the U.S. Voting Rights Act through its "discriminatory effects."

 

The decision from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit pertained to one of a series of laws enacted in Republican-governed states requiring potential voters to show identification that Democrats saw as intended to disenfranchise minorities who typically support their party.

 

"We affirm the district court's finding that SB 14 (Texas Senate Bill 14) violates Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act through its discriminatory effect," a three-judge panel from the New Orleans-based court said.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/08/05/us-usa-vote-texas-idUSKCN0QA2A920150805]

[Draggingtree]

abcnews
HOME>POLITICS

How Does Latest Federal Ruling Affect Texas' Voter ID Law?

AUSTIN, Texas — Aug 5, 2015, 6:39 PM ET

By WILL WEISSERT Associated Press

A federal appeals court declared Wednesday that Texas' strict 2011 voter ID law has a "discriminatory effect" on minorities and violates the Voting Rights Act. But the three-judge panel's unanimous, 49-page decision also overturned a lower court's previous assertion that the law amounted to an unconstitutional "poll tax." Here's a closer look at the ruling, the law and where the case stands now.

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WHAT DOES THE RULING MEAN?

 

The U.S. 5th Circuit Court in New Orleans found that Texas' law requiring residents to show state-approved IDs in order to cast ballots violated Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act, a 50-year old federal statute prohibiting discrimination against minorities. Its ruling followed a decision last year by the lower, Corpus-Christi-based U.S. District Court that likened the law to an unconstitutional "poll tax" that could require some poor Texans to pay to vote because of fees associated with obtaining necessary IDs. The ruling Wednesday rejected the "poll tax" finding since Texas has taken steps to allow residents to receive IDs for free. But it upheld the lower court's assertion that the effect of the law was nonetheless discriminatory.

 

WHAT HAPPENS NEXT?

 

The case returns to U.S. District Court, which will have to decide whether the Texas Legislature intended to discriminate against minority voters when it drafted and passed the law

[clearvision]

Stupid

[Valin]

... ... ... ... ....

[Geee]

Related:

 

 

Group Files to Help States Fighting Soros-Backed Voter ID Lawsuits

 

http://www.therightreasons.net/index.php?/topic/68048-group-files-to-help-states-fighting-soros-backed-voter-id-lawsuits/

[Valin]

Why is a photo ID racist when it comes to voting, but not when it comes to cashing a check, renting a car, getting a hotel room, flying on an airline, (if you're young looking) buying a 6 pack of beer, walking into a government building, opening a checking/savings account, closing out a checking/savings account, etc...etc...etc...etc?

 

Use small words please

[Draggingtree]

Obama decries voter ID laws, chastises Americans who don’t vote

 

By Ben Wolfgang - The Washington Times - Thursday, August 6, 2015

 

President Obama on Thursday blasted state efforts to enact voter ID laws, called on Congress to strengthen the landmark Voting Rights Act, and said Americans who stay home on election day “dishonor” those who fought for civil rights.

 

In an op-ed posted on Medium, Mr. Obama also took direct aim at the Supreme Court, which in 2013 struck down a piece of the Voting Rights Act that required some states to clear any changes in their voting laws with the Justice Department.

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2015/aug/6/obama-decries-voter-id-laws/

[Draggingtree]

Court says Texas Voter ID law is only slightly unconstitutional

 

POSTED AT 12:01 PM ON AUGUST 6, 2015 BY TAYLOR MILLARD

 

A decision by a 5th Circuit Court of Appeals panel to call the Texas Voter ID law unconstitutional isn’t as big of a win as some are making it out to be. It’s true the panel upheld a previous judge’s ruling the law violated Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act, but it’s important to look at what the panel said. They noted the law was basically unintentionally discriminatory.

 

As such, we conclude that the district court did not clearly err in determining that SB 14 has a discriminatory effect on minorities’ voting rights in violation of Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act. As discussed below, we remand for a consideration of the appropriate remedy in light of this finding in the event that the discriminatory purpose finding is different.

 

One thing which is really interesting is how the panel agreed with Texas on the problem of the previous voting system.

http://hotair.com/archives/2015/08/06/court-says-texas-voter-id-law-is-only-slightly-unconstitutional/

[Geee]

Soros money will drag this out and long as possible. Hopefully it will be settled before the Presidential election.

[Draggingtree]

Lyle Denniston Independent Contractor Reporter

Posted Thu, August 6th, 2015 9:55 am

Texas voter ID law ruled invalid — in part

Acting one day before the fiftieth anniversary of the nation’s most important voting rights law, a federal appeals court on Wednesday ruled that Texas will be barred from enforcing at least part of its four-year-old law that requires a photo ID before a voter can go to the polls.

 

The ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, however, left a good deal of doubt about how much of the Texas law will actually be nullified after a new round of analysis that it ordered a federal trial judge to do.

 

The Texas case was one of several new challenges against new laws in a variety of states to cut back on voting rights by imposing new photo ID requirements and other restrictions. The challenges rely upon the 1965 Voting Rights Act. Ultimately, the Texas case or one of the others is likely to make its way to the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court has encountered the Texas voter ID law once before; last October the Justices allowed the law to go into effect, over a strong dissent that Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg stayed up all night to write for herself and two colleagues.

http://www.scotusblog.com/2015/08/texas-voter-id-law-ruled-invalid-in-part-2/#more-230884

[Valin]

@Draggingtree

 

 

Although the new ruling by the Fifth Circuit cheered defenders of voting rights for minorities and the poor,

 

How does requiring a photo Id oppress minorities and the poor?

[Draggingtree]

@Draggingtree

 

 

Although the new ruling by the Fifth Circuit cheered defenders of voting rights for minorities and the poor,

 

How does requiring a photo Id oppress minorities and the poor?

I could answer but

[Valin]

@Draggingtree

 

I hear ya!

[Draggingtree]

Texas lost when it thought it had won. The cost: $1 million

By Lyle Denniston on Aug 18, 2015 at 8:50 pm

 

The state of Texas, one of the most energetic opponents of a key part of the federal Voting Rights Act, has turned what it was sure was a Supreme Court victory against that law into a legal defeat that will cost it more than $1 million. That was the result of a ruling by a federal appeals court on Tuesday, interpreting what it means when the Justices send a case back to a lower court for a new look.

 

The unanimous ruling by a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit will translate into a sizable legal bill for Texas to cover what opponents in a major election law case spent for their attorneys’ work.

 

The panel sharply accused the state’s lawyers of failing to obey court rules, echoing an earlier comment by a federal trial court judge that “this matter presents a case study in how not to respond to a motion for attorney fees and costs.” http://www.scotusblog.com/2015/08/texas-lost-when-it-thought-it-had-won-the-cost-1-million/