Today, the U.S. 5th circuit court of Appeals ruled that Texas’ voter identification law violates the Voting Rights Act.
The ruling by a federal appeals panel found that the 4-year-old voter ID law does not constitute a poll tax, but however does have a “discriminatory effect” that is in violation of Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act. The decision, by a 3-judge panel, also sends a portion of the case to a lower court to determine whether the law was imposed with a discriminatory purpose.
The controversial voter ID law – which some called the strictest in the nation – was signed into law in 2011.