Less than a week before early voting begins, a Federal Appeals Court has said that Texas' controversial voter ID law can go into effect. The enforcement order, issued Tuesday, comes days after a District Court judge struck down the law.
The 5th Circuit Court of Appeals effectively puts a stay on the district court's ruling. It said its decision hinged on timing.
The ruling, it said, was "based primarily on the extremely fast-approaching election date."
"The Supreme Court has repeatedly instructed courts to consider the importance of preserving the status quo on the eve of an election."
The voter ID law in place requires that voters present photographic identification at the polls.
The first day of early voting in Texas is Monday, October 20.
On October 15, various voting rights organizations appealed the Texas government photo-ID case to the U.S. Supreme Court.
CLICK HERE to read the appeal.
On October 15, the U.S. Supreme Court asked Texas to respond to the brief filed by voting rights groups, in the case over the state’s government photo-ID law for voting at the polls. The response is due on October 16 by 5 p.m. eastern time. The case is Veasey v Perry, 14A393.
Accusing some of the challengers to Texas’s voter ID law of rushing their case to an early trial to create an artificial “emergency,” state officials urged the Supreme Court on Thursday afternoon to leave that law in operation through this year’s general election — with early voting starting next Monday.
The requests by the Justice Department and the others challenging the Texas law are in the hands of Justice Antonin Scalia, who handles emergency legal matters from the geographic area that is the Fifth Circuit, including Texas. It is up to Scalia to decided whether to act alone, or to share action with his colleagues.
NYC Wins When Everyone Can Vote!
Michael H. Drucker
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