AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Texas is asking the U.S. Supreme Court to restore its newly weakened voter ID law but not until after the November election.
The request filed Friday comes two months after a federal appeals court ruled that the state’s 2011 law discriminated against minorities and the poor. The U.S. Justice Department has argued that more than 600,000 registered voters lacked an acceptable ID under the law.
Texas was forced to soften those ID requirements for the upcoming election. But Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton wants the Supreme Court to ultimately restore the full law.
Elections experts say the Texas law was among the toughest voter ID measures in the nation. It required showing one of seven forms of photo identification, allowing concealed handgun licenses but not college student IDs.