As the New York Times is reporting:
The Justice Department's Civil Rights Division on Monday blocked Texas from enforcing a new law requiring voters to present photo identification, contending that the rule would disproportionately suppress turnout among eligible Hispanic voters...
...the state had failed to meet its requirement, under the Voting Rights Act, to show that the measure would not disproportionately disenfranchise registered minority voters...
4.3 percent of non-Hispanic voters lacked such identification, while 6.3 percent of Hispanic voters did -- meaning that Hispanics were 46.5 percent more likely to be affected by the rules change.
And that's the conservative estimate. Using another set of data presented to the Department of Justice by the State of Texas:
4.9 percent of non-Hispanic voters lacked the identification, as compared with 10.8 percent of Hispanic voters -- meaning that Hispanics were more than twice as likely to be affected.
The fact of the matter is that for every case of alleged "voter fraud" there are hundreds, if not thousands, of cases of people not having IDs required by these new discriminatory voter-id laws. And far more cases of people who have been voting all their lives turned away than of actual fraud, such as was the case for Art Reese:
Tennessee's fail-safe voting system failed Tuesday for Art Reese.
The 85-year-old World War II veteran was turned away at the polls in Meigs County because of miscommunication and wasn't offered a provisional ballot as state law requires.
Reese, who retired from Amoco Oil, takes voting seriously and is upset he didn't get to cast a ballot in the Super Tuesday primary election.
"Back in 1944, when I was over in Europe fighting for this country, jumping from foxhole to foxhole, I didn't have this kind of problem," Reese said Friday by telephone.
or Paul Carroll
AURORA, Ohio - A Portage County World War II veteran was turned away from a polling place this morning because his driver's license had expired in January and his new Veterans Affairs ID did not include his home address.
We all know why Republicans are passing these restrictive voter identification laws; and it isn't because they are looking to attract minorities to their party.
It's good to see the DoJ stepping up to the plate on this, but they can only do a limited amount, generally in states that are forced to comply with the Voting Rights Act. Court decisions have given states significant latitute in defining voter requirements, which Republican legislatures have used now to full advantage.
Even if Democrats take back State Legislatures in states that have passed these restrictive laws at some point in the future, will they have the courage to revoke them? Voter ID laws are extremely popular -- after all, "almost everyone" has an ID. And if you don't there "must be" something wrong with you.
Republicans have found yet another paranoid delusion they are fooling the American public with. I am not at all optimistic as to how this will ultimately play out.
11:15 AM PT: Related diary by Noise of Rain on Wisconsin Voter ID Law enjoined as unconstitutional!