The Supreme Court ruled in June 2013 that states no longer can be judged by voting discrimination that went on decades ago, a decision that argues the country has changed since the racially motivated laws of the civil rights era. The high court eradicated section 5 of the Voting Rights Act under the belief discrimination does not exist anymore. Before this decision, the state of Texas passed a voter 1D law, the strictest in the country, which could have significant repercussions for African American and Latino voters.
Court Rules Texas Voting Law is Discriminatory
Many forms of ID that both contain a photograph and are government-issued, such as student IDs from public Texas colleges and government employee IDs, are not accepted under the law created by Texas legislators. So, on August 5th, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled the state’s strict photo ID law violates Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act because it discriminates against African-American and Latino voters. This is a small victory for Texas voters as voter protection laws are at its weakest ever since the passing of Voting Rights in 1965.
African-American and Latino voters are two to four times more likely to lack ID when compared to white voters in Texas, according to a news article. The opinion confirms this gap in ID possession, along with Texas’s history of racial discrimination at the ballot box and beyond, and the ongoing socioeconomic impacts of such discrimination, which is not allowable under Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act that prohibits voting laws that discriminate on the basis of race.
Since the Supreme Court made that decision several years ago, folks are paying close attention to states that attempt to disenfranchise voters. The interesting fact about the decision is gay marriage was voted on in the same week in 2013 but unfortunately voting rights didn’t receive equal amount of attention. Isn’t that ironic?
“There’s just no question that the court is slowly letting go of this legacy of race in America, and is pushing it aside,” said Ward Connerly, founder of the American Civil Rights Institute.
Even though our country has made some progress since the civil rights movement, it would be negligent and irresponsible for individuals to presume racism and discrimination does not exist. All states must have an oversight mechanism in place to prevent anyone from having a discriminatory experience, whether black, white, latino or homosexual.
This is the second time a federal court has determined Texas’s voter laws discriminate against minorities.
Court Rules Texas Voting Law is Discriminatory
SOURCE: NY TIMES
