A lawsuit challenging Texas’ voter ID law, filed by a judge on the state’s highest criminal court, was abruptly withdrawn Wednesday, only one day after a Dallas appeals court heard oral arguments on whether the lawsuit should be allowed to continue. Texas Court of Criminal Appeals Judge Larry Meyers, the only Democrat in statewide office after switching parties in 2013, was seeking to have the voter ID law thrown out, arguing that it exceeded the power granted to the Legislature by the Texas Constitution.
Meyers’ lawsuit was separate from a federal court challenge by voters and elected Democrats who argue that the 2011 law improperly limits the voting rights of minority, lower-income and older Texans who are less likely to have approved forms of photo identification.
The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals will hear oral arguments in that challenge May 24 in New Orleans.
Working through the state court system, Meyers’ lawsuit won its first test last summer when state District Judge Dale Tillery rejected Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s request to dismiss it.
Full Article: Voter ID lawsuit abruptly withdrawn in state court | www.mystatesman.com.
