Early voting began on Monday in Harris County with the stateâs voter ID law recently reinstated by a federal appeals court. The ruling handed down by the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals allows the law to be used in the Nov. 4 election, despite a lower judgeâs ruling that the law is unconstitutional.
The Texas law requires registered voters to show one of seven kinds of photo identification to cast a ballot. The U.S. Justice Department says more than 600,000 of those voters, mostly black and Hispanics, lack eligible identification. The Justice Department condemns the state voter ID law as Texasâ latest means of suppressing minority voter turnout.
We discuss where the voter ID law stands now, and where it could be headed next, with Charles âRockyâ Rhodes, Professor of Law at South Texas College of Law.
