CONGRESSWOMAN EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON OFFERS A STATEMENT ON THE TEXAS VOTER ID LAW

Washington, D.C. (November 17, 2011)–  In a letter issued Wednesday, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) told the Texas Secretary of State’s Office that more information will be needed before any decision will be made on the controversial Voter ID law.  

“The information provided thus far is incomplete and does not enable us to determine that the proposed changes have neither the purpose nor will have the effect of denying or abridging the right to vote on account of account of race, color or membership in a language minority group, as required under Section 5,” the Department of Justice stated.

In September, the DOJ requested a demographic breakdown of the estimated 605,500 registered voters who do not have state-issued IDs and drivers licenses in Texas. The Voter ID law, if pre-cleared would require all Texas voters to show a picture ID before casting their ballots.

The bill was pushed through under a Republican super-majority in the Texas Legislature and was signed into law by Governor Rick Perry in the spring. However, any law affecting how Texans vote must first be pre-cleared by the DOJ, due to the state’s history of racially discriminating laws.

“I applaud the U.S. Department of Justice’s decision, denying preclearance on the Voter ID Law. This is a win for the Texans fighting to protect their Constitutional Right to Vote. The state’s continued defiance of cooperating with the DOJ, shows that the true intent of this legislation was to disenfranchise certain voters,” stated Congresswoman Johnson.

For more information please read:  Texas ID Law Letter

###

U.S. Representative Eddie Bernice Johnson is the highest-ranking Texan on the House Committee on Transportation & Infrastructure and a senior member of the Science Committee. She represents the 30th Congressional District of Texas, which, includes Downtown Dallas, Fair Park, Oak Lawn, Turtle Creek,Old East Dallas, Pleasant Grove, & South Oak Cliff; all of Balch Springs, DeSoto, Hutchins, Lancaster & Wilmer and parts of Cedar Hill, Duncanville, Ferris, Glenn Heights and Ovilla.