The Houston Chronicle discusses the upcoming voter ID trial and the disparity on how photo ID laws which have been upheld by the Supreme Court don’t apply to all Americans as DOJ creates a second-class system for Southern states 50 years after the Voting Rights Act (VRA).
Southern states, led by Alabama, have argued that Section 5 is a violation of states’ rights. Texas Republicans have charged that President Barack Obama’s Justice Department has manipulated its powers under the Voting Rights Act to benefit Democrats. “Instead of attacking Texas for enforcing the law, the Department of
Justice should learn from the Lone Star State and focus its resources on
protecting the integrity of the electoral system nationwide,” said
Republican U.S. Rep. Ted Poe, of Humble.
Thirty-one states require voters to show identification at the polls,
including 15 that require photo ID. The U.S. Supreme Court upheld the
right of states to require identification cards in a 2008 Indiana case,
but the Justice Department has rebuffed laws in two states covered by
the Voting Rights Act, Texas and South Carolina. New ID laws in
Mississippi and Florida are awaiting Justice Department action.