Victory! LDF successfully argues that photo ID law is discriminatory

Dear LDF Supporters,

I am pleased to report that Texas’s onerous and discriminatory photo ID law, Senate Bill 14, has been struck down by the U.S. District in the Southern District of Texas.

This is a major victory for Texas voters, particularly Black and Latino voters who were disproportionately affected by this discriminatory law.

As our attorney Ryan Haygood told The New York Times, “The evidence in this case demonstrated that the law, like its poll-tax ancestor, imposes real costs and unjustified, disparate burdens on the voting rights of more than 600,000 registered Texas voters, a substantial percentage of whom are voters of color.”

LDF represented the Texas League of Young Voters Education Fund, a Houston-based organization that works with young people of color throughout Texas to engage them in the political process, and Imani Clark, a registered Texas voter and undergraduate student at Prairie View A&M University, a historically Black Texas university, who does not possess any of the limited forms of ID required by SB 14. The law firm of Wilmer, Cutler, Pickering, Hale and Dorr LLP is co-counsel with LDF.

Until today, over 600,000 registered Texas voters, a significant share of whom are Black and Latino, faced the same predicament in Texas.

In the wake of the Supreme Court’s decision on the Voting Rights Act last year, we have seen our hard-won voting rights systematically attacked. The Court’s ruling today proves that when we present clear evidence of discriminatory voting changes, we can make progress in the fight to secure our right to vote – including the work of restoring the key protections of the Voting Rights Act.

I look forward to keeping you updated on the impact of today’s ruling.