In early August, the 5th Circuit Court ruled that Texas' voter ID law had a "discriminatory effect" and needed to be fixed. It was another tremendous reminder of why courts matter.
Yet there's serious concern that Republican obstruction will keep the law from being fixed in time for local elections in November 2015.
The Houston Chronicle reported that the Obama administration and civil rights groups are asking for a fast-track fix to the law. But Texas Republicans - who call for repeal of the Voting Rights Act in their platform - are in no rush:
Lawyers for the civil rights groups said in their brief that they spoke with the attorney general's office earlier this week, noting the state is opposed to its request that the process be sped up in anticipation of the November elections.
It is wrong to conduct an election with a voter ID law in place that courts have ruled must be fixed - especially given recent findings.
A study from Rice University found that the law kept kept Hispanic voters from participating in Texas' closest election race in 2014. This is addition to the fact that as many as 600,000 Texans, statewide, were disenfranchised due to the law.
Meanwhile, even Politifact has agreed that lighting strikes in Texas are more common than in-person voter fraud.
Attorney General Ken Paxton, Gov. Greg Abbott, and other leading Texas Republicans should stop delaying a court-ordered fix and ensure every Texan has his or her right to vote.
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