AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — The Justice Department sued Texas on Thursday over the state's voter ID law and will seek to intervene in a lawsuit over its redistricting laws that minority groups complain are discriminatory, but Texas Republicans insist are designed to protect the state's elections from fraud.

Attorney General Eric Holder said the action marks another step in the effort to protect voting rights of all eligible Americans. He said the government will not allow a recent Supreme Court decision to be interpreted as open season for states to pursue measures that suppress voting rights.

"This represents the department's latest action to protect voting rights, but it will not be our last," the attorney general said.

Holder is concentrating on Texas because of years of litigation over the state's Voter ID law and redistricting maps that federal judges in Washington have determined would either indirectly disenfranchise minorities and the poor, or intentionally discriminate minorities.
exas is the only state found to have intentionally discriminated against minorities in this decade's round of redistricting, and the state was banned from enforcing either law. But the U.S. Supreme Court decision requiring revisions to the Voting Rights Act of 1965 took away the judges' authority to intervene.

That has forced Holder and minority groups to use other aspects of the Voting Rights Act or the Constitution to fight the cases in other federal courts.

Gov. Rick Perry called Holder's move a blatant disregard for states' 10th Amendment rights and has said the Obama administration's actions are an "end run around the Supreme Court."

"The filing of endless litigation in an effort to obstruct the will of the people of Texas is what we have come to expect from Attorney General Eric Holder and President Obama," he added.

Attorney General Greg Abbott, a proponent of the voter ID law and a candidate to replace Perry, vowed to fight the Justice Department.

http://news.yahoo.com/govt-sues-texas-over-voter-id-law-204353371.html

The separate provision of the Voting Rights Act that Holder is invoking may be a difficult tool for the Obama administration to use. A handful of jurisdictions have been subjected to advance approval of election changes through this provision, but a court first must find that a state or local government engaged in intentional discrimination under the 14th or 15th amendments, or the jurisdiction has to admit to discrimination. Unlike other parts of the voting law, the discriminatory effect of a law is not enough to trigger the provision.

The NAACP, one of the plaintiffs in the redistricting case, said it will intervene in the voter ID case in support of the Justice Department

Voter ID is just a common sense way to prevent cheating. IDs are required for almost everything else.

I read about this today...tempest in a teapot. there needs to be a way to absolutely prevent illegals from voting (and the deceased...how totally insane)

but SS cards and birth cerificates are free...for the first copy, be responsible and keep track of them, or PAY to get a new one....people in the agencies that supply those don't work for free...and get a state ID

if u have a problem getting an ID then I am suspicious of u

We must take the cautious path here and ID voters. how that is a problem I will never understand

Only idiots and cheats would try to stop voter ID.

Shows me what Hussein, Holder and the NAACP are.

And a few others ...

There is only one way that Texas and any other state can ever hope to control their own borders against Mexican or any illegal foreign immigrants and that is to rescind their entrance into the US and opting to change their status from a state to becoming their own State as they originally were for a short time . Sam Houston made a fatal mistake in dragging Texas into the Union. Many but not enough people at the time thought it was also a mistake, Perhaps it is long overdue to correct that mistake; opt out of the US and once again, secede and control your own destiny...(who knows how many may join you if people are really fed up!)

This should be no surprise to anyone. The Obama Administration has brought more law suits against states and local municipalities then any administration in the history of our democracy...or what is left of our democracy

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UXMC5w983_k&feature=player_embedded#t=58

HEY!!!

Why don't you want dead people voting??

Dead people have rights too...

Well, brain-dead people may have the right to vote.

not a problem til now,,,,suspiciously,,,

oh well,,,

guess this will cut out all those cases where the CAMPAIGN WORKERS are commiting fraud,,,,

fake controversy to support further disenfranchisement,,,

If you have a problem getting an ID then you probably live a long distance from your nearest department of motor vehicles (or whatever they call it in your state).

The problems with voter ID laws isn't that they simply require an ID. They require ID cards that are especially hard to get. Government photo IDs, which are only issued by a few agencies. This, for something that's a constitutional right, and in a law that says it's to combat voter fraud, which is already more rare than most any other crime, ever. Of the over 100 million voters, there have been only dozens of actual voter fraud ever proven. Those "deceased" voters you mention were actually investigated and it turned out that in almost all the cases, it was a voter accidentally signing the wrong line in a register. In other cases, it was relatives of the deceased trying to fulfil the deceased dying request. Not surprised you missed that, because they never mention that on Fox News or Drudge Report.

guess you can show us many examples where it was disproven!
Most Countries in this World have some sort of Voter-ID Requirements!
Usually issued when you register to vote,or register your Residency!

define 'most'...lol

that most Countries in this World have Voter-ID Laws!

so ,, out of roughly 196 countries,,,,how many is 'most'?

lol,,, unfounded and repetitive claim maybe?

Lookie, lookie!
Loony lefties learned a new catchword .
Hey kiddies. Can you say disenfranchise?
That will replace historical as their new, favorite term!

Fck 'em if their crack, booze or cigarettes is mo impotent dan gittin registered fer an ID.

In 1913 the banks gave us The Federal Reserve Act. Today our dollar (since Nixon took us off the gold standard and gave us the Petro Dollar) has lost 98 cents of its value!

In 2002 they gave us The Patriot Act..... you do the math!

Only WE THE PEOPLE can change anything, and if we let them keep destroying our Constitution and Bill of Rights, as they have destroyed our dollar and economy......

It used to be people could strive for "The American Dream".....

What we have now is nothing but a nightmare to look forward to!

Labels and laws, regulation and restriction.....not much freedom in any of those words and those words are what gov't is good at!

We need voter ID and to get corporations out of the voting booth!

Term limits would help much more! NO CAREER POLITICIANS!