Justice Department Halts Voter ID Requirement Push In Texas

The Justice Department blocked Texas’ new voter-identification law on March 12, arguing that it targets the State’s Hispanic population, igniting another battle between President Barack Obama’s Administration and a Republican-led State, The Washington Times reported.

According to the newspaper, Texas is the second State to have its voter-ID law rejected by the Department of Justice, which has prevented the local governments from enacting legislation to combat both illegal immigration and voter fraud.

Assistant Attorney General Thomas E. Perez said he was using the Federal government’s power under the Voting Rights Act to block the Texas law. He outlined how Hispanics may be twice as other constituents to lack the right kind of identification to vote.

“Hispanics disproportionately lack either a driver’s license or a personal identification card issued by [the state’s Department of Public Safety], and that disparity is statistically significant,” he said in a six-page letter to Texas officials.

Bloomberg reported that Texas Governor Rick Perry spoke to the move by the Obama Administration as another instance of its “continuing and pervasive overreach.”