Appeals Court Hears Texas Photo ID Case [View all]

Brennan Center

A three-judge federal appeals panel heard arguments http://www.brennancenter.org/sites/all/modules/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=81473&qid=4861768 last week as to whether Texas’s strict photo ID law discriminates against minority voters and imposes unlawful burdens on the right to vote. 

A federal district judge struck down http://www.brennancenter.org/sites/all/modules/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=81474&qid=4861768 Texas’s law in October 2014, but the Supreme Court allowed the measure to remain in place for the November election.

Texas officials appealed that ruling to the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, arguing the plaintiffs did not show the photo ID requirement prevented citizens from voting.

But Judge Catharina Haynes — a President George W. Bush appointee — expressed strong skepticism that the law did not burden voters. She noted that citizens might be discouraged from voting if they “have to jump through a bunch of hoops,” like obtaining their birth certificate, in order to apply for a photo ID.

“What Texas has done here is more severe than any other” state in the country, Chad Dunn, one of the lawyers for the plaintiffs, told the Fifth Circuit panel. http://www.brennancenter.org/sites/all/modules/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=81475&qid=4861768

The district judge found more than 600,000 registered voters, including a disproportionate number of African Americans and Latinos, lack the photo ID now needed. The Brennan Center — which is part of the legal team representing the plaintiffs — shared several stories http://www.brennancenter.org/sites/all/modules/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=81477&qid=4861768 last month of voters who were prevented http://www.brennancenter.org/sites/all/modules/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=81478&qid=4861768 from casting ballots in 2014 because of the ID requirement.

The state’s attorney argued there was no direct evidence proving legislators passed the law to intentionally discriminate against minorities.

“It’s unlikely that someone’s going to get up and say overtly: ‘Let’s discriminate,’ in a debate in the House or Senate,” Haynes responded. http://www.brennancenter.org/sites/all/modules/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=81480&qid=4861768 Instead, noted Chief Judge Carl Stewart, “strong circumstantial evidence” is the usual standard to prove discrimination.

During questioning, Haynes probed as to whether the state could broaden the law to include several other forms of ID — both photo and non-photo. Texas already had a voter ID requirement before passing its strict photo ID law in 2011. The previous law allowed citizens to use several forms of ID, such as a voter registration card, utility bill, or pay stub. Haynes asked if allowing voters to use their registration card — which every registered voter receives — could be a way of making the law less strict.

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