CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas (AP) — The fate of the tough new voter ID law in Texas is now in the hands of a federal judge.
In closing arguments today, attorneys defending the law urged the judge to follow other courts by upholding the photo identification requirements. But the Justice Department argued that black and Hispanic residents are much more likely not to have an ID than white residents are.
Last year, the Supreme Court struck down part of the U.S. Voting Rights Act, which kept Texas and eight other states with histories of discrimination from changing their election laws without approval from Justice or from a federal court. Before that ruling, Texas had been prevented from enforcing the voter ID law, which was signed in 2011.
Attorney General Eric Holder then took Texas to court under a remaining section of the Voting Rights Act. Under that provision, opponents of the law would have to prove that Texas intentionally discriminated against minority voters.
Texas says the opponents didn’t clear that hurdle.
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