Attorney General Ken Paxton today asked the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to overturn a district court’s injunction permanently barring Texas from enforcing its amended voter ID law (Senate Bill 5). The Legislature passed the amended law to comply with a prior 5th Circuit court ruling. In a separate filing yesterday, the attorney general asked the U.S. District Court in Corpus Christi to stay its ruling while the appeal proceeds.
Wednesday, a district court granted a permanent injunction against Texas’ voter ID laws, defying the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), which asked the court to end efforts to overturn the law. In a filing with the court, the Justice Department stated it was satisfied Senate Bill 5 “eradicates any discriminatory effect or intent” and expands voter identification options.
In his brief filed with the 5th Circuit, Attorney General Paxton stated that “the State provided the district court with record citations showing that the seven reasonable impediments enumerated in SB5 alleviate every single burden alleged by the 14 named plaintiffs and their 13 testifying witnesses. The district court order did not even acknowledge this evidence or the State’s argument.”
“Texas complied with all the changes to the voter ID law requested by the 5th Circuit, which should reverse the district court’s misguided ruling,” Attorney General Paxton said. “Voter ID guarantees to Texas voters the opportunity to cast an in-person ballot and protects the integrity of our elections.”
Last year, the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals remanded the voter ID case to Judge Nelva Gonzales Ramos to assess the impact of any future legislative action, such as SB 5.
View the 5th Circuit stay motion