Texas Judges Thumbs Nose At US Supreme Court

[ShaklesOfBigGov]

Federal court strikes down Texas voter ID law
By Terry Frieden, CNN Justice Producer
updated 5:40 PM EDT, Thu August 30, 2012


Washington (CNN) -- A federal appeals court in Washington Thursday struck down the Texas voter ID law requiring photos for voters at the polls, calling it racially discriminatory.

The decision is a major victory for the Obama administration and its Democratic allies, which had challenged the law.

A "fear", found not to be proven, finds its way to victory in a political decision for the Obama admistration. We have seen this scare tactic float around by the left before, the idea that having a photo ID somehow supresses the right of minorities. It remains unproven. There has been no claim that requiring an ID to obtain a passport surpresses minorities, nor is there supression to be found in requiring one to purchase a gun, which IS a "Constitional" right. Let me add that the right to bear arms comes with an extensive background check, along with a waiting period. Are we denying those individuals THEIR basic Constitutional right by having them pay for a license and undergo a criminal check?

Let's look to cost, the government already provides a free cell phone with minutes and texting to those who can't afford it. Yet enforcement of voter ID seems to be an eluding subject for the left, one that appears to be of no real importance in contrast to certain "comforts" and technology like a cell phone.


The ID law in Indiana looked at the issue of voter supression, it concluded:

District Judge Barker prepared a comprehensive 70-page opinion explaining her decision togrant defendants’ motion for summary judgment. 458 F. Supp. 2d 775 (SD Ind. 2006). She found that petitioners had “not introduced evidence of a single, individual Indiana resident who will be unable to vote as a result of SEA 483 or who will have his or her right to vote unduly burdened by its requirements.”

THE UNITED STATES SUPREME COURT Crawford vs. Marion County Election Board

Justice Scalia:
"The universally applicable requirements of Indiana’s voter-identification law are eminently reasonable. The burden of acquiring, possessing, and showing a free photo identification is simply not severe, because it does not “even represent a significant increase over the usual burdens of voting.”

(Update)
Justice Stevens, joined by Chief Justice Roberts and Justice Kennedy, found no showing of an undue burden on various voters who challenged the voter ID law on its face. Justices Scalia, Thomas and Alito would have upheld the law on the broader ground that it imposed the same requirements equally on all voters. Both opinions give great weight to the state interest in ensuring that only eligible voters cast ballots