U.S. rejects Texas voter-identification law
Justice official says Latinos would be inordinately affected
HOUSTON – The U.S. Justice Department on Monday rejected Texas’ new voter-identification law, saying that it could disproportionately harm Latinos under the federal Voting Rights Act.
“Hispanics disproportionately lack either a driver’s license or a personal identification card,” Assistant Attorney General Thomas Perez, head of the Justice Department’s civil rights division, wrote in a letter to Keith Ingram, director of elections for the Texas secretary of state.
Perez noted that state data showed nearly 800,000 people do not have driver’s licenses or personal identification cards issued by the state Department of Public Safety. More than 38 percent of those lacking the ID were Latino, he said.
In Pennsylvania on Monday, the Republican-controlled House debated a photo-ID measure that, if approved, Republican Gov. Tom Corbett is expected to sign. The Republican-controlled Virginia Legislature passed a voter-ID bill this year, which Republican Gov. Bob McDonnell is expected to sign.
But because of past voting rights violations in 16 states or portions of states, Texas is among the jurisdictions that must first obtain “preclearance,” or permission from the Justice Department or a federal court in Washington, before changing election procedures.
Under the Texas voter-ID law – passed by the Republican-controlled Legislature and signed by Gov. Rick Perry – voters must present one of seven forms of state or federally issued photo ID at the polls, including handgun permits. Those without the required ID may receive provisional ballots, but they would be counted only if they return and present an approved ID within six days of the election, according to the Texas Secretary of State’s website.
As a result of the Justice Department’s opposition, the voter-ID law will not be in effect during the May 29 primary election, according to a statement from Texas Secretary of State Hope Andrade.