AUSTIN -- Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott asked a federal court Monday to clear the way for the state's voter ID law to go into effect without waiting for a Justice Department decision on whether the law discriminates against minorities.
The Obama administration is hostile to laws such as the one passed last year in Texas that require would-be voters to show an approved photo identification card before getting a ballot, Abbott said.Abbott filed suit in a Washington court against U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder and the Justice Department.Texas is one of 16 states subject to a provision of the Voting Rights Act requiring changes in voting laws to be submitted to the Justice Department or a federal court in Washington for "pre-clearance" before the laws can go into effect.In September and again in November, the Justice Department asked the state for additional information, including the racial breakdown and counties of residence of the estimated 605,500 registered voters who do not have a state-issued license or ID. They also asked how many of those voters have Spanish surnames.The state turned in the last of the data Jan. 12. The Justice Department has another six weeks before it must issue its decision, under the Voting Rights Act.Abbott's filing asked the court to go ahead and clear the law because similar measures exist in other states. And, he said, the Justice Department is taking too long to decide whether to clear it."Texas should be allowed the same authority other states have to protect the integrity of elections," Abbott said. "To fast-track that authority, Texas is taking legal action in a D.C. court seeking approval of its voter identification law."Minority groups have complained that the law is intended to discourage voting among the poor and elderly, who are less likely to have a driver's license. In 1965 Congress created the Voting Rights Act, and the section requiring Texas to seek pre-clearance for new election laws, because Texas and other Southern states enforced laws designed to keep minorities from voting.Data produced by the Texas secretary of state's office this month appear to show that minorities would be affected more under the new law than whites.The Texas Democratic Party condemned Abbott's decision to sue to get the law enforced."Abbott's wasting tax dollars to inquire whether the voter ID law is discriminatory in intent or just in effect, as if it made any difference to the people being discriminated [against]," said Rebecca Acuna, a party spokeswoman. "The absolute intent of this law is to disenfranchise voters."Abbott's office insists the law does not discriminate. "Texans who do not already have a driver's license, passport, military identification card, or other approved form of identification can get a state-issued voter identification card free of charge from the Texas Department of Public Safety," a statement said. "Additionally, anyone who is disabled or over the age of 65 can vote by mail, which allows them to use mail-in ballots without having to get a photo identification."The U.S. Supreme Court upheld a similar law in Indiana, which is not subject to monitoring under the Voting Rights Act. But the Department of Justice refused to clear a similar South Carolina law.Abbott argued that either the Texas and South Carolina laws should be allowed, or if not, then the Obama administration must be using the Voting Rights Act to discriminate against Texas and other Southern states.Have more to add? News tip? Tell us
