New Texas voter ID law discriminates: Judge

Washington, Aug 24 (IANS) A US federal district court judge granted a permanent injunction against Texas' voter ID law, holding that the state acted with discriminatory intent, media reports said.

On Wednesday, Attorney General Ken Paxton called the ruling "outrageous" and vowed to appeal the decision with the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans, Louisiana, reports CNN.

The ruling is the latest loss for Texas on the issue of voting rights.

A federal court blocked Texas voter ID law Senate Bill (SB) 14 during the 2016 election, and a second measure, SB 5, was put into place that allowed voters who had no photo ID to vote by signing a declaration.

Judge Nelva Gonzales Ramos of the Southern District of Texas said on Wednesday that the second law, signed by Governor Greg Abbott in June, was an improvement but fell "far short of mitigating the discriminatory provisions of SB 14".

She wrote that using a declaration trades one obstacle for another that threatens severe penalties for perjury.

Both laws discriminate against many blacks and Latinos, Ramos added.

Meanwhile, voting rights groups praised the ruling, reports CNN.

"Time and time again, federal courts have made it clear that Texas's strict voter photo ID law is discriminatory," said Danielle Lang, senior counsel for Campaign Legal Centre.

"Now Texas must return to non-discriminatory ID practices in voting, which do not require photo ID."

"Another major victory in our Texas Voter ID case," tweeted Kristen Clarke, president and executive director of the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under the Law.

(This story has not been edited by Social News XYZ staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)