Appeals court: Texas can enforce new voter ID law

AUSTIN, Texas, Oct. 15 (UPI) -- The U.S. Supreme Court was asked Wednesday to bar Texas from enforcing its new voter identification law in the November election.

Plaintiffs challenging the law appealed to the high court for a stay after an appellate court said Tuesday that scrapping the law so close to the election would cause confusion. A federal judge, who described the law as the equivalent of a poll tax, found it unconstitutional last week.

Early voting is scheduled to begin Monday. The appeals court said the Supreme Court "has repeatedly instructed courts to carefully consider the importance of preserving the status quo on the eve of an election."

The Texas law, considered one of the most stringent of the many passed in states where Republicans control the statehouse, requires voters to have acceptable photo identification. The list includes driver's licenses, passports, military identification or concealed handgun permits.

Supporters of voter ID laws argue they are necessary to prevent fraud. Opponents say there have been few verified cases of fraud and the laws impose hardship on the elderly, the poor and members of minority groups.

"The evidence establishes that discriminatory purpose was at least one of the motivating factors for the passage of SB 14," U.S. District Judge Nelva Gonzales Ramos said last week in her lengthy opinion.

The civil rights groups challenging the law and seeking a stay argue that Texas has also done a bad job of preparing Texas voters for it, and say the status quo in the state is effectively the one that existed before the law took effect.