voter ID laws

Stories 1 - 20 |  Next >>

Trying to Push Voter ID, Trump Makes Odd Claim on Groceries

No, you don't usually need ID to buy groceries

(Newser) - More than a quarter-century after former President George HW Bush's grocery store scanner moment , President Trump has stumbled into a similar supermarket-themed slip. While championing the concept of voter ID to prevent noncitizen voting, Trump told a rally in Tampa, Fla., on Tuesday that ID is required virtually everywhere...

Court Makes Big Ruling in Texas Voter ID Law

2-1 decision doesn't allow college student IDs

(Newser) - Texas' voter ID law that was twice blocked over findings of discrimination can stay in effect for the 2018 elections, a US appeals court ruled Friday, per the AP . It was the second major ruling over voting rights in the US this week after an Arkansas judge on Thursday blocked...

Judge Chucks Revised Texas Voter ID Law

Changes don't go far enough, she says

(Newser) - A federal judge who has compared Texas' voter ID requirements to a "poll tax" on minorities once again blocked the law Wednesday, rejecting a weakened version backed by the Trump administration and dealing Texas Republicans another court defeat over voting rights. US District Judge Nelva Gonzales Ramos rejected changes...

Supreme Court Rejects Appeal of NC Voter ID Law

Lower court's ruling scrapping the controversial law stands

(Newser) - The Supreme Court on Monday rejected an appeal to reinstate North Carolina's voter identification law, which a lower court said targeted African Americans "with almost surgical precision." The justices left in place the lower court ruling striking down the law's photo ID requirement and scaling back...

NC Governor Blasts '4 Liberal Justices' Over Voter ID Law

A divided Supreme Court blocked the state's law

(Newser) - A divided US Supreme Court refused Wednesday to reinstate North Carolina's voter identification requirement and keep just 10 days of early in-person voting. The decision—a victory for voting rights groups and President Obama's Justice Department—means voters won't have to show one of several qualifying photo...

Federal Judge Strikes Down Another State's Voting Restrictions

This time in Wisconsin

(Newser) - The same day a federal judge ruled North Carolina's voter ID law was racially discriminatory and unconstitutional, a federal judge made a similar ruling in Wisconsin. While he didn't strike down the state's entire 2011 voter ID law, Judge James Peterson did repeal big chunks of it,...

Court: NC Law Clearly Passed to Discriminate Against Black Voters

Federal court struck down the 2013 voter ID law on Friday

(Newser) - A restrictive 2013 North Carolina voter ID law was struck down for being passed with "racially discriminatory intent," Politico reports. Three federal appeals court judges ruled unanimously Friday that the law violated both the Constitution and the Voting Rights Act. Judge Diana Motz says North Carolina lawmakers passed...

Federal Court Guts Voter ID Law in Texas

It must be watered down before the November election

(Newser) - A big win for the White House and critics of voter ID laws: A federal appeals court ruled Wednesday that Texas' strict law discriminates against minorities and the poor and must be weakened before the November elections. The ruling was a striking election-year victory for President Obama's administration, which...

Court Rejects Texas Voter ID Law
Court Rejects Texas
Voter ID Law
Aug 5, 2015 5:34 PM CDT

Court Rejects Texas Voter ID Law

Calls it 'discriminatory' against minorities

(Newser) - A federal appeals court ruled today that Texas' voter ID law has a "discriminatory" effect on minorities—a victory for President Obama, whose administration took the unusual step of bringing the weight of the Justice Department to fight a wave of new ballot-box restrictions passed in conservative statehouses. The...

Supreme Court Lets Texas Enforce Voter ID Law

State can do so during this year's midterm elections

(Newser) - The Supreme Court said today that Texas can use its controversial new voter ID for the November election. A majority of the justices rejected an emergency request from the Justice Department and civil rights groups to prohibit the state from requiring voters to produce certain forms of photo identification in...

Courts: Voters Don't Need ID at Wisconsin, Texas Polls

Critics say requiring ID now would 'virtually guarantee chaos at the polls'

(Newser) - Advocates of voter ID laws say they help address absentee voter issues; critics say the laws are discriminatory against poor, elderly, and minority voters. Two courts went with the nays last night in Wisconsin and Texas, blocking identification requirements at the polls that some say would have "virtually [guaranteed]...

Supreme Court Affirms NC's Tight Voting Rules

Same-day registration won't be allowed, justices rule

(Newser) - Same-day registration won't be allowed during early voting in North Carolina, and Election Day ballots cast in the wrong precinct won't be counted this fall after the US Supreme Court today blocked a ruling that had set aside parts of a 2013 election law. A majority on the...

Students: Voter ID Law Is 'Unconstitutional'

North Carolina hearing on voter ID law starts tomorrow

(Newser) - North Carolina's voter ID law isn't just wrong, it's unconstitutional: That novel argument will be heard this week at a hearing where students are joining the NAACP, ACLU, the Justice Department , and voter-registration advocates in a challenge against law HB 589, the New York Times reports. The...

Rand Paul Bucks GOP in Opposing Voter ID Laws

Says Republicans have gone 'crazy' on the issue

(Newser) - Rand Paul thinks Republicans are way off base in pushing voter ID laws , a stance that makes him the "most prominent member of his party" to come out against them, reports the New York Times . “Everybody’s gone completely crazy on this voter ID thing,” he tells...

Judge Scraps Voter ID Law in Wisconsin

Says it violates the Constitution

(Newser) - A federal judge in Milwaukee struck down Wisconsin's voter identification law today, saying a requirement that voters show a state-issued photo ID at the polls imposes an unfair burden on poor and minority voters. US District Judge Lynn Adelman sided with opponents of the law, who argued that low-income...

Judge Spikes Pennsylvania Voter ID Requirement

Issue likely headed to state Supreme Court

(Newser) - A nearly 2-year-old requirement that almost all of Pennsylvania's 8.2 million voters must show photo identification before casting a ballot was struck down today by a state judge, setting the stage for a courtroom showdown before the state's highest court. Commonwealth Court Judge Bernard L. McGinley, a...

Surprise: Turnout Up Despite Voter ID Law

Bryan Preston thinks Democrats' fears have been debunked

(Newser) - Democrats have been warning loudly of the dangers of Texas' voter ID law. But "if voter ID was intended to suppress votes, it is failing as spectacularly as HealthCare.gov," writes Bryan Preston at CNN . Texas uses its off-year elections to approve or reject certain constitutional amendments. In...

Texas Denies Former House Speaker a Voter ID

Jim Wright will be able to vote, says he worries about others

(Newser) - Texas' 2011 voter ID law has proved a hurdle for a longtime national political figure. Jim Wright, who briefly served as speaker of the US House in the late '80s, realized his expired driver's license and university faculty ID weren't enough to validate his ballot—so he...

Arizona, Kansas Create Federal-Only Class of Voters

Those who register with federal form can't vote in state, local elections

(Newser) - It sounds a little like whack-a-mole on voter ID laws: After the Supreme Court told Arizona it could no longer require proof of citizenship for voters in federal elections, the state plans to employ a work-around of sorts. The Arizona Republic calls it a "dual-track voting system" and the...

NC Voter ID Law Runs Into Roadblock: the DOJ

Eric Holder to announce lawsuit today: source

(Newser) - North Carolina passed a controversial voter ID law in July, but if the Department of Justice has its way, the law—said to be the most sweeping of its kind in the nation—may never be enforced. The DOJ will file suit against the state today, a source tells Politico...

Stories 1 - 20 |  Next >>