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Justice Dept. blocks Texas voter ID law

AUSTIN, Texas, March 12 (UPI) -- The U.S. Justice Department blocked a Texas law requiring voters to show a photo identification, saying the law disproportionately harmed Hispanic residents.

The Justice Department action was the second time in three months the Obama administration blocked a state voter ID law, saying it discriminated against minority groups, The Washington Post reported Monday.

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In December, the Justice Department blocked South Carolina's voter ID law, saying it discriminated African-American voters.

The Texas requirement was signed into law last year by Gov. Rick Perry.

"Even using the data most favorable to the state, Hispanics disproportionately lack either a driver's license or a personal identification card," Thomas Perez, head of the Justice Department's civil rights division, said in a letter to Keith Ingram, the director of elections for the Texas secretary of state.

The Justice Department blocked the South Carolina and Texas voter ID laws under a section of the 1965 Voting Rights Act. The provision requires 16 states or parts of states having a history of discrimination to receive federal approval of any voting law changes.

Eight states passed voter ID laws last year. Critics said the statutes were a response in search of a problem and could hurt turnout among minorities and others who helped elect President Obama in 2008. Conservative supporters and Republican attorneys general say laws are necessary to combat voter fraud.

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South Carolina and Texas both filed lawsuits in U.S. District Court in Washington, asking that they be allowed to enforce their new voting laws.

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