The Texas Attorney Genreal’s office said in a statement that because the November election is in less than 100 days, the current deal solves as an “interim remedy” while the office evaluates a possible appeal to the Fifth Circuit to the U.S. Supreme Court.
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Proving intentional discrimination is hard, experts say, but the impact of such a ruling could be severe – potentially landing Texas back on the list of states needing federal approval to change their election laws.
Opponents say more than 600,000 voters lacked a suitable ID under the law.
The agreement also says election officials are prohibited from questioning voters about their reasonable impediment claims, while requiring that the state implement a training and educational program for the new procedures.
In this February 26, 2014 file photo, an election official checks a voter’s photo identification at an early voting polling site in Austin, Texas.
The changes come as judges across the US are blocking several Republican-controlled states from imposing stricter election rules this November. State leaders and civil rights groups reached a compromise Wednesday, agreeing to water down a controversial law requiring all voters to show valid photo ID in order to obtain access to the voting booth on Election Day.
A spokesman for Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment.
More than 30 states have voter ID restrictions or regulations, majority of which are in Republican-controlled state houses.
The 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled last week that North Carolina’s 2013 voter ID law was passed with “discriminatory intent” and blocked enforcement.
On Wednesday, The New York Times reported the new laws allow anyone to vote in the November election, even if they don’t have any of the seven identifying documents recognized by law.
Other states also have had election rules sidelined for the coming November election.
“The U.S. Supreme Court said that voter ID is a legitimate means of preventing voter fraud, and Texans widely support it to defend the integrity of our elections”, Paxton said in an e-mailed statement.
North Dakota’s voter-identification requirement is on hold after a federal judge sided Monday with a group of Native Americans who said the law unfairly burdens them.
In an interview this week on Fox News Channel’s “The O’Reilly Factor”, Trump speculated that people without proper identification “are going to vote 10 times”. He alluded to a 2008 Supreme Court ruling that upheld an IN voter-ID law.
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“You don’t have to have voter ID to now go in and vote and it’s a little bit scary”, Trump said on Fox News.
