By Drew Singer
WASHINGTON, July 13 (Reuters) – A three-judge federal panel
deciding the fate of Texas’ new voter identification law grilled
the state’s lawyer in closing arguments on Friday and suggested
that the controversial legislation would disproportionately hurt
racial minorities.
The law, passed by the Republican-dominated Texas
legislature in 2011, requires voters show a voter registration
card – which does not have a photo – or an acceptable
alternative, such as a driver’s license or a utility bill.
Texas says the new measure will prevent voter fraud.
The Democratic administration of President Barack Obama
blocked the law in March 2012, saying it discriminated against
African-Americans and Hispanics.
As lawyers for the two sides made their final arguments
after a week-long trial in U.S. District Court in Washington,
the judges focused far more of their skeptical questions on
Texas lawyer John Hughes than on the U.S. government lawyer.
“The burden falls disproportionately on minorities because
minorities are disproportionately poor,” Appeals Court Judge
David Tatel told Hughes. “You have to have evidence that it will
not have a retrogressive effect.”
Hughes spent most of the time allotted for his closing
remarks responding to challenges from the bench.
U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder said earlier this week
that some national studies showed as many as a quarter of
African-American voting age adults lacked photo identification
compared with 8 percent for whites.
The U.S. government has argued that the law will force poor
people to travel long distances to acquire an ID and it has
noted that, unlike some other states, Texas does not waive the
ID fees.
“How can we ask them to travel over 100 miles (161 km) to
get an ID?” District Court Judge Robert Wilkins asked Hughes.
Wilkins and Tatel were appointed by Democratic presidents.
District Court Judge Rosemary Collyer, the lone Republican
appointee on the panel, also did not hesitate to challenge
Texas’ lawyer on the question of who would be ineligible to
vote.
It is common for judges to interrupt lawyers during their
closing arguments, often with the toughest questions that could
decide the case.
But Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott, in a conference call
with reporters at the end of the trial, shrugged off
speculation the panel might be leaning toward ruling against
Texas.
“It would be a mistake sometimes to read into a person’s
point of view from the bench. We’re not concerned by the court’s
questions and we believe we have solid answers for them,” he
said.
The panel is expected to issue a decision by the end of the
summer. The case could end up in the U.S. Supreme Court, where
its opponents hope it would be struck down.
In blocking the Texas law, the U.S. Department of Justice
cited the 1965 Voting Rights Act, which was enacted at a time of
racial strife in the nation and designed to protect the voting
rights of minorities, primarily blacks in Southern states.
Seventeen states have passed some version of a law requiring
voters to present photo ID at the polls. The Justice Department
has also blocked a South Carolina law, citing the Voting Rights
Act, but the challenge has yet to reach the courts.
The Texas lawsuit for approval of the voter identification
law is: State of Texas v. Holder in U.S. District Court for the
District of Columbia, No. 12-cv-128.
(Reporting by Drew Singer; Editing by Corrie MacLaggan and Paul
Simao)
