Federal judge strikes down Texas’ voter ID law for having a discriminatory intent

[Geee]

Washington Times

A federal court judge in Texas struck down the state’s voter ID law on Wednesday, ruling it had a discriminatory intent and effect against Hispanic and black voters.
The decision is a blow to the Texas legislature and to President Trump’s Justice Department, which had asked the judge to halt efforts to overturn the state’s new voter ID law since it had expanded voter ID options from an earlier version, and would protect the integrity of elections in Texas.
But U.S. District Court Judge Nelva Gonzales Ramos of the Southern District of Texas said the state’s “SB 5” law did not meet requirements set forth from the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals after it had ruled in 2014 against an earlier voter ID law “SB 14.”
Judge Ramos, an appointee of President Obama who also had initially struck down SB 14, ruled Wednesday that the rewritten law did nothing to cure the previous issues of racial animus, and she issued an injunction that prevents the law from taking effect.

[Draggingtree]

Friday round-up

By Andrew Hamm on Sep 1, 2017 at 11:32 am

In U.S. News & World Report, Joseph Williams discusses recent victories by voting-rights advocates in challenges to Texas’ ballot-ID law and legislative districts, noting “the victories are tempered by the fact that Republicans have vowed to appeal both cases to the Supreme Court, raising the very real possibility that the justices would agree to review and possibly reverse the lower-court decisions.” And at Howe on the Court, Amy Howe reports that Justice Samuel Alito, in his capacity as circuit justice for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit, has put on hold a lower-court ruling that had invalidated maps for the Texas House of Representatives.  

[Valin]

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Federal judge strikes down Texas’ voter ID law for having a discriminatory intent

 

 

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Great news, because its a well known fact that minorities have soooo much trouble getting a photo ID.

world class sarcasm

[Geee]

Texas’ Voter ID Law Is Back in Force. Here’s Why That’s Such a Big Deal.

 

Last week, Christian Adams and I reported on the latest mistaken decision by federal District Court Judge Nelva Gonzales Ramos, who threw out—for the fifth time—Texas’ amended voter ID law.
Texas immediately appealed to the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals and requested a stay of Ramos’ decision. On Tuesday, in a 2-1 vote, a three-judge panel of the 5th Circuit granted the state’s request. That means the Texas voter ID is back in effect and will remain in effect until the appeals court makes its final decision on the appeal.
This also means the voter ID law will be in effect for state elections in November.
When deciding whether to grant a stay of a lower court order, appeals courts consider a number of factors. One of those is whether the party appealing “is likely to succeed on the merits.”