Texas asks U.S. Supreme Court to reinstate its voter ID law
AUSTIN, Texas, Sept 23 (Reuters) - Texas asked the U.S. Supreme Court on Friday to reinstate a law requiring that authorized identification be presented for voting after losing a series of court battles where justices ruled the law is discriminatory and violates the U.S. Voting Rights Act.
The move will not impact the current election, where Texas has been ordered by a federal appeals court to weaken its voter identification requirements. Civil rights groups contend these requirements could exclude as many as 600,000 voters who belong mostly to racial minorities or are impoverished and were unable to obtain the appropriate identification cards.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, a Republican, said the Texas law was needed to preserve the integrity of the ballot.
"Voter ID laws both prevent fraud and increase the public's confidence in our elections," Paxton said in a statement.
Civil rights group say voter fraud is rare, and voter ID laws used in Texas and other Republican-led states are aimed at suppressing the votes of racial minorities and those in poverty who typically support Democrats.
But with the U.S. Supreme Court split 4-4 on ideological grounds and without a ninth member following the death of Antonin Scalia, it could have an incentive to dodge controversial issues like voting rights in its new term, which starts Oct. 3.
Last month, a U.S. district court in Texas overseeing the terms of deal to weaken the state law admonished Texas for misleading voters in its education and training material for the November election.
The Texas measure was signed into law in 2011, and subject to lawsuits after that. It requires voters to present a photo identification such as a Texas driver's license, passport or concealed handgun permit.
In the deal for the November election, voters on the registered list who do not have the appropriate identification can present material such as a birth certificate, bank statement, current utility bill, or any other government document that displays the voter's name.
That voter is required to a complete and sign an affidavit saying they have a reasonable impediment for not having one of the authorized forms of identification. (Reporting by Jon Herskovitz; Additional reporting by Lawrence Hurley in Washington; Editing by Bernadette Baum)
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