In the latest win for white supremacy, a federal appeals court ruled that Texas can move forward in its bid to implement a “draconian” voter-identification law, at least temporarily.
Reuters reports that on Tuesday evening, a three-member panel of the U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans voted 2-1 to put on hold a lower-court ruling striking down the law while it considers the law’s constitutionality.
In a four-page dissenting opinion, Judge James Graves wrote that the 5th Circuit should have stayed the entire law from taking effect until a final ruling was issued, but Judges Jennifer Elrod and Jerry Smith wrote in a six-page ruling, “The state has made a strong showing that it is likely to succeed on the [case’s] merits.”
As previously reported by The Root, U.S. District Judge Judge Nelva Gonzales Ramos in April ruled against the controversial law and barred its enforcement after it was passed this year by the state’s Republican-controlled Legislature.
The bill, S.B. 14, is allegedly a remedy for so-called voter fraud and requires voters to show one of seven approved forms of identification—for example, concealed-handgun licenses, but not college student IDs.
That bill was an update to a 2011 voter-ID law that had been subject to years of court challenges during the Obama administration because of its strict requirements.
Of course, because the Obama administration opposed it, President Donald Trump and his U.S. attorney general, Jeff Sessions, love it.
A U.S. Department of Justice rep noted in a statement Wednesday that the administration is “pleased that the 5th Circuit has stayed the injunction and allowed Texas to proceed with its duly enacted voter-identification laws.”
“Preserving the integrity of the ballot is vital to our democracy, and the 5th Circuit’s order allows Texas to continue to fulfill that duty as this case moves forward,” said the spokesperson.
Raise your hand if you know that this is not really about “preserving the integrity of the ballot.” Voter suppression is alive and well, y’all. Resist.
Read more at Reuters.