U.S. Appeals Court: Texas can implement Voter ID

A federal appellate court ruled Tuesday that Texas could continue implementing its voter ID law by overturning a ruling from a U.S. district judge.

A three-member panel of the U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans voted 2-1 to put the lower court judge’s ruling on hold while it considers the constitutionality of the law, which was passed this year by the state’s Republican-controlled legislature.

U.S. District Judge Nelva Ramos, in San Antonio, had put an injunction on the law saying that it was “enacted with discriminatory intent.”

“The lack of evidence of in-person voter impersonation fraud in Texas belies any urgency for an independently fashioned remedy from this court at this time,” she wrote.

Apparently, the fifth circuit court of appeals disagreed with Ramos when it ruled that Texas could implement the law while the circuit court considers the case.

“The state has made a strong showing that it is likely to succeed on the merits (of the case)” Judges Jennifer Elrod and Jerry Smith wrote in a six-page ruling.

U.S. Department of Justice Spokeswoman Lauren Ehrsam said in a written statement “We are pleased that the Fifth Circuit has stayed the injunction and allowed Texas to proceed with its duly enacted voter identification laws.”

“Preserving the integrity of the ballot is vital to our democracy, and the Fifth Circuit’s order allows Texas to continue to fulfill that duty as this case moves forward,” Ehrsam said in the statement.