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Voter ID appeal: another Paxton waste of time

THE EDITORIAL BOARD

Republican Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton during a May news conference in Austin, Texas.
Republican Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton during a May news conference in Austin, Texas. AP

Texas leaders aren’t taking “absolutely no, no, never, never, no” for an answer.

A spokesman for Attorney General Ken Paxton said he will ask the divided U.S. Supreme Court to restore the state’s stiffer voter ID law, even though the very conservative 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals already ruled the tough requirements racially discriminatory.

Texas’ voter ID rules went too far beyond simple identification and manipulated the eligibility of minority voters, the 5th Circuit ruled.

The case was sent back to a Corpus Christi federal court, and more rational ID requirements already have been set for the Nov. 8 general election, including a $2 million-plus education plan to tell voters they can come back.

Now, it is no longer clear whether Texas will ask the Supreme Court to restore the old rules right away for the general election. Since time is short and the Supreme Court is ideologically split, it is unlikely to reverse the decision by a conservative lower court.

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Is this trip to Washington really necessary?

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