A federal judge sided again today with plaintiffs in the long legal battle over Texas’ voter ID law. This time, the U.S. Department of Justice joined the group of Texas voters challenging the state’s law, arguing Texas election officials were misleading voters about court-ordered changes to the law. According to lawyers in the case, during a hearing for that motion today, U.S. District Judge Nelva Gonzales Ramos ordered state officials to do a better job of communicating the changes she ordered several weeks ago. Chad Dunn, one of the attorneys representing the plaintiffs in the voter ID case, says he doesn’t understand why the state deviated from language both sides had previously agreed upon. “But, the communications going forward are going to accurately reflect what the court ordered as an interim remedy, and voters are going to have the correct information,” he says.
That means the state will need to make it clear to voters that, if they had trouble getting an ID, they can still vote. That’s if they present a paycheck or utility bill and sign a document saying they had a “reasonable impediment” to obtaining an ID.
Plaintiffs and federal justice officials claimed in their motion that the state’s materials said that option was limited to people who simply “could not” get an ID.
These changes were ordered by a federal court after the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled the state’s law made it harder for minorities to vote. These changes are an interim remedy for the November presidential election.
Full Article: Federal Judge Says Texas Election Officials Need to Follow Voter ID Court Order | KUT.
