The Texas Voter ID law has twice been struck down by courts. Yet the law lives on, through appeal after appeal. Last week, in the latest round of the drama, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton was in federal court to defend the measure once again.
The Houston Chronicle set out to explainwhat all the fuss is about. In March, Gov. Greg Abbott said “the fact is, voter fraud is rampant.” But that doesn't appear to be true. The nonpartisan fact-checker PolitiFact labeledAbbott’s statement as “pants on fire.” Of the 72 million votes cast this century in Texas, the site could only find four instances of voter fraud.
Critics say the law it keeps minorities away from the ballot box, and thus empowers the same Republican politicians who put the law in place.
In 2012, a three-judge federal panel said the law “imposes strict, unforgiving burdens on the poor, and racial minorities.”
