News broke a couple of hours ago that a federal judge in San Antonio has struck down Texas strict voter ID law. The judge, Nelva Gonzales Ramos of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas, found that the law was passed in part with the intent to discriminate against African-American and Latino voters. This is significant because it opens up the possibility of Texas’ elections procedures being placed back under federal oversight, as they were before the gutting of the Voting Rights Act in 2013.
Judge Ramos had made a similar ruling before. But the Fifth Circuit Court, reluctant to uphold voting rights but having difficulty finding an excuse to overturn Ramos, returned the case to her court on the intent issue, saying she relied too much on improper (or “infirm”) evidence in her ruling. Upon re-examination, Judge Ramos reiterated her ruling, saying “Upon reconsideration and a reweighing of the evidence in conformity with the Fifth Circuit’s opinion, the court holds that the evidence found ‘infirm’ did not tip the scales.”
Texas is almost certain to appeal again to the 5th Circuit, but considering that there are now five rulings that the law was discriminatory by intent, their case looks weak.
Of course, a return to federal supervision won’t mean much under Jefferson Beauregard Sessions III’s Justice Department, but he won’t be in office forever.