Attorney General Ken Paxton today asked the U.S. District Court in Corpus Christi to stay its permanent injunction against Texas’ voter ID law while also notifying it that Texas will appeal Wednesday’s decision to the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.
During its regular session, the Texas Legislature amended the voter ID law by passing Senate Bill 5, which complies with all the changes to the law requested by the 5th Circuit. In issuing the injunction against voter ID, a U.S. District judge ignored the 5th Circuit’s prior ruling.
“The outrageous voter ID ruling is an affront to the 5th Circuit and an example of one judge choosing to create the law based on their own preferences rather than apply the law justly and fairly,” Attorney General Paxton said. “The voting process in Texas demands the highest level of integrity. I’m confident the 5th Circuit will agree with the U.S. Department of Justice, which said it is satisfied the amended Texas voter ID law has no discriminatory purpose or effect.”
In a court filing last month, the Department of Justice (DOJ) asked the district court to end efforts to overturn the voter ID law, noting that the law expands identification options when it takes effect January 1. Texas’ voter ID law “both guarantees to Texas voters the opportunity to cast an in-person ballot and protects the integrity of Texas’ elections,” the DOJ told the judge.