Updated 04:41 AM EDT, Fri, Mar 29, 2024

US Justice Department Sues Texas over Voter ID Law

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The Obama administration sued the state of Texas over its alleged discriminating voter ID law and also has plans to intervene over the state's redistricting case.

Attorney General Eric Holder referred to the administration's move as another step forward in the Justice Department's continuing effort to protect the voting rights of all eligible Americans.

"The department will take action against jurisdictions that attempt to hinder access to the ballot box, no matter where it occurs. We will keep fighting aggressively to prevent voter disenfranchisement," he said in a report by Fox.

The state's voter ID law requires voters to present a state-issued and approved ID before casting their ballots, says the Christian Science Monitor. Before, voters were only required to present their registration cards.

According to Bloomberg, voters can make use of one of six kinds of state-issued identification cards. A license for a concealed handgun is permissible but student IDs are not allowed. Voters who do not possess such identification cards are required to obtain election ID certificates at state drivers' license offices.

Such requirement is referred to as "discriminatory" to minority groups and to those who have do not have the means of obtaining election ID certificates by those who are opposed to the voter ID law. Texas republicans see the requirement as a means of protection against election fraud in the state.

"Texas has a deeply disturbing history of brazenly suppressing the votes and voting strength of black and Latino voters. The voter ID law in Texas is a solution in search of a problem. A Texas voter is more likely to be struck by lightning than to see someone attempt to vote fraudulently at the polls," says NAACP Legal Defense Fund President Sherrilyn Ifill in a report by the Chicago Tribune.

Republican Attorney General of the state, Greg Abbott disagrees and says: "Voter IDs have nothing to do with race, and they are free to anyone who needs one."

The US Justice Department has already filed a suit in a federal court in Corpus Christi, Texas. View the filed complaint HERE.

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