The Voting Rights Act celebrated its 50th anniversary on Thursday, and opponents of Texas' voter identification law are celebrating a court's decision to strike down the law. U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit struck down the Lone Star State's voter ID law, which Democrats have labeled as "discriminatory," but Republicans said the law was to halt voter fraud.
A three-judge panel of the U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans heard arguments about Texas' voter identification law, which the U.S. Department of Justice claimed suppresses minority voting.
The U.S. Supreme Court turned down a challenge to overturn Wisconsin's voter identification law. While Wisconsin has an election scheduled in April, the state's voter identification law will be implemented on a later date.
Oct. 31 is Halloween Day, but it's also the last day for early voting in Texas. Public opinion of the state's controversial voter ID laws are also positive than negative despite claims "hundreds of thousands" of voters will be disenfranchised from voting.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit reversed a district court judge's ruling and reinstated the strict voter identification law in Texas days before early voting begins.
