Texas was blocked by a federal judge Wednesday from enforcing its revamped voter ID law.
As The New York Times reports, Federal Judge Nelva Gonzales Ramos ruled Wednesday that the law did not go far enough and perpetuated discrimination against black and Hispanic voters.
Ramos previously ruled that the original law, passed in 2011, was intended to discriminate against blacks and Hispanics. The law required voters provide one of seven forms of government-issued photo identification, like a driver’s license or passport, before casting a ballot.
The revamped law allowed voters to show easier-to-obtain identification, like a utility bill, but in her ruling, Ramos said voters were still unable to show state or federal employee ID cards under the law.
Because those who lack the accepted forms of identification were “subjected to separate voting obstacles and procedures,” Ramos wrote, “S.B. 5’s methodology remains discriminatory because it imposes burdens disproportionately on blacks and Latinos.”