WASHINGTON (AP) - A federal court has ruled
against a Texas law that would require voters to present photo IDs to election
officials before being allowed to cast ballots in November.
A three-judge panel in Washington ruled
Thursday that the law imposes "strict, unforgiving burdens on the
poor" and noted that racial minorities in Texas are more likely to live in
poverty.
The decision involves an increasingly
contentious political issue: a push, largely by Republican-controlled legislatures
and governor's offices, to impose strict identification requirements on voters.
The ruling comes in the same week that South
Carolina's strict photo ID law is on trial in front of another three-judge
panel in the same federal courthouse. A court ruling in the South Carolina case
is expected in time for the November election.
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