A U.S. District Court judge dismissed the last remaining claims against Texas’ photo voter ID law, saying plaintiffs’ case is now moot.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton issued a statement today declaring a final victory in his fight to preserve the state’s common-sense voter ID requirement.
“I’m proud of the successful fight my office waged to defend Texas’ voter ID law,” Paxton said. “With this major legal victory, voter ID requirements remain in place going forward to prevent fraud and ensure that election results accurately reflect the will of Texas voters.”
“Safeguarding the integrity of our elections is a primary function of state government and is essential to preserving our democratic process,” he added.
State lawmakers passed Senate Bill 5 in 2017 as a “legislative fix” to the state’s 2011 voter ID law. Under SB 5, voters without one of several state-approved forms of photo identification can complete a reasonable impediment declaration and vote a regular ballot.
In April, a three-judge panel of the U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the state’s revised voter ID law, reversing a district judge’s finding of unconstitutional discrimination and declaring Texas’ photo voter ID requirement nondiscriminatory.
