The following excerpt is from an article written by John C Moritz from the USA Today Network. Take a look at the article titled, Latest version of Texas voter ID law takes effect Jan. 1:
The latest version of the Texas law that requires voters to show state-approved photo identification officially goes into effect upon the new year, but it’s already the subject of a long-running court battle and its fate is far from certain.
The new law, enacted by the Legislature in 2017 and signed by Gov. Greg Abbott, came after a 2011 version was declared unconstitutional because it had a racially discriminatory effect. The 2011 law was considered among the most restrictive voter ID measures in the nation and it severely limited the types of photo identifications that would be acceptable at the polls.
According to information from the National Conference of State Legislatures, “34 states have laws requesting or requiring voters to show some form of identification at the polls. 32 of these voter identification laws are in force in 2017”. More detailed info on voter ID can be found at the NCSL focus page here.
The Lyndon Baines Johnson Library and Museum at the University of Texas at Austin recently hosted a discussion on Texas voter ID and other voting reform issues. In the following video of the panel discussion, “Panelists explored the ever-changing Texas and federal legal battles; some of the surrounding social, political, and legal issues; and considered how the Trump administration taking over from the Obama administration changes the cases and issues”.
Participants included Norma Cantú, professor of law and education at the University of Texas at Austin, Ernest Herrera, a staff attorney at MALDEF, Eric Opiela, an election law attorney, and David Richards, a voting rights attorney at Richards Rodriguez & Skeith. The moderator was Jim Henson, the director of the Texas Politics Project. Take a look:
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