Under terms of the deal, voters who do not possess one of the seven valid forms of identification specified under the law will be allowed to fill out an affidavit ballot after swearing they were unable to procure a valid state-issued photo ID.
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Along with the affidavit, voters would present an alternate form of ID: voter registration card, birth certificate, a current utility bill, bank statement, government check, paycheck or some “any other government document that shows the name of the voter and an address”.
“The provisions we’ve agreed to now are critical safeguards for voters”, said Chad Dunn, one of the lead attorneys in the lawsuit against Texas.
Other states also have had election rules sidelined for the coming November election. Opponents counter that such laws disproportionately keep poor and minority Americans from voting, and aren’t needed to prevent voter fraud-because fraud is very rare.
The changes come as judges across the country are blocking several GOP-controlled states from imposing stricter election rules this November.
“Therefore, by early next week, we will be asking the U.S. Supreme Court to stay the ruling of the Court of Appeals”.
The supposed objective of these laws is to prevent voter fraud. There have only been two convictions for fraud out of 20 million votes cast in the decades before state lawmakers crafted the law.
The new agreement is only a temporary remedy, the Texas attorney general’s office said in a statement. “This case is not over”. That will allow them to cast a regular full ballot, and their vote will be counted.
Espinoza said she intends to advocate for a New Mexico voter ID law on the campaign trail. “I can not support any bill that restricts the right to vote”, she said. NPR’s Kelly McEvers talks to Richard L. Hasen, a professor of law and political science at the University of California, Irvine, about the future of voter ID legislation. Election officials can only challenge a vote if they have conclusive evidence that the person is not who they say they are.
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A federal judge is set to consider a deal by Texas officials that would ease some some of the state’s voter identification rules and end a legal fight between the state, the U.S. Department of Justice and some civil rights groups. Under Wednesday’s agreement, Texas must spell out those plans, which are subject to court approval, by August 15.
