This week the United States Supreme Court rejected an appeal from the State of Texas that would have restored the state’s controversial voter ID law.
As The New York Times reports,Chief Justice John Roberts left the door open for the Supreme Court to consider the case after further proceedings in the lower courts.
The 2011 law required voters to present photo ID at polling places before casting their ballots. Federal courts have ruled on numerous occasions that the law is racially discriminatory.
Critics noted that traditionally Democratic voters are less likely to possess the required identification than Republican voters. And the law was accepting of the types of IDsthat are traditionally held by GOP voters, such as gun licenses, but disallowed identification types more commonly held by Democrats, such as college student IDs.
Ken Paxton, Texas’ attorney general, said he was disappointed in the ruling.