Texas Republicans have skipped preclearance procedures (mandated by the Voting Rights Act) of their Voter ID law with the Department of Justice by seeking preclearance with the D.C. District Court. While this is legal, they are doing so because they know it is very unlikely the DOJ will allow this law with its resulting voter suppression in Texas. You may recall that the DOJ refused preclearance for South Carolina’s Voter ID law late last year.

If this law passes, millions will be impacted. Consider these voters:

• University students who cannot use their university photo IDs
• Seniors who have no passport, driver license or other state-issued ID
• Women whose names do not exactly match from state-issued IDs to voter registration cards due to marriage or divorce
• Low-income Texans who do not have the funds to pay for the supporting documents required to obtain a “free” state-issued ID solely for voting purposes

Powerful Republicans know this will suppress the vote of women, seniors, college students and minorities. And that’s exactly the point.

Will you or someone you know be affected by this law if it’s upheld? Please let us know by emailing us.  Real-life accounts of how this horrible law will affect Texas voters are extremely important in helping us get our message out.  We want to share your story with the Texas Democratic Party.

Thanks,
Steve