Democracy Update

Texas Voter ID Law Illegal

In a victory for full voting rights, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit – one of the country's most conservative courts – ruled yesterday that a Texas voter ID law was illegal and violated the Voting Rights Act, especially in how it would disproportionately affect African American and Latino voters.

The law cannot be enforced for the November elections, the court said.

The law, SB14, was one of the harshest voter ID laws in the country, restricting the rights of more than 600,000 registered voters.

Writing for the majority, Judge Catharina Haynes said there was no evidence to support the existence of voter fraud in Texas. She suggested, however, that the law could have been passed by the Texas legislature with discriminatory intent.

The court agreed that SB 14 "disproportionately impacts the poor, who are disproportionately minorities," and who face "greater obstacles in obtaining the necessary photo identification." States are permitted to prevent voter fraud, Judge Haynes concluded, but they do not get "a free pass to enact needlessly burdensome laws with impermissible racially discriminatory impacts." The lower court must now craft a remedy to fix the law’s legal infirmities.

CWA President Chris Shelton praised the court’s decision, calling it a step toward ensuring that all Americans can exercise their right to vote. "Congress must repair the damage done by the Supreme Court's Shelby decision that weakened the Voting Rights Act and opened the door to the suppression of voting rights, especially among people of color and lower incomes Americans," he said.

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Wisconsin Voter ID

A federal judge in Wisconsin ruled that people who have difficulty obtaining identification under that state's photo ID law can sign an affidavit and vote using a regular ballot in November.

Since the requirements took effect in 2016, the state has rejected almost 20 percent of those applying for voter ID, with an amazing 85 percent of those African American, Latino, or Native American. Testimony indicated that 300,000 eligible voters could lose their right to vote.

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Automatic Voter Registration

CWA and Democracy allies commended House and Senate leaders for introducing national automatic voter registration legislation last week. Sponsors include Representative Robert Brady (D-Pa.) and Senators Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) and Dick Durbin (D-Ill.).

The measure, "the Automatic Voter Registration Act" would require states to automatically register people eligible to vote when they interact with certain state and federal agencies, unless those people decline. That means getting a driver's license, registering for class, or working with other agencies would enable those citizens to more easily register to vote. The legislation also takes steps to streamline the voter registration process, providing for portability and online registration.