The Justice Department and the state of Texas faced off at trial Monday over the state’s new voter identification law, which the Obama administration claims violates the federal Voting Rights Act.
In opening arguments before a three-judge panel in federal district court in Washington, D.C., a lawyer for Texas argued that the photo ID requirement was intended to limit voter fraud, not to curb turnout of legally registered voters.
Texas says it needs the photo ID to prevent fraud in the state, and a lawyer for the state told the judges Monday that fraud has been shown as recently as May in Texas, NPR’s Pam Fessler, who was in the court, tells All Things Considered.
In March, the Justice Department blocked the new voter ID law from going into effect in Texas, saying the state failed to show that the law would not deny minorities the right to vote. Texas then sued.
MORE: Justice Department, Texas Face Off In Court Over Voter ID Law