U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder was in Austin, Texas Tuesday night where he promised the Justice Department’s civil rights division will aggressively review new voter ID laws that civil rights advocates say will have a discriminatory impact. This puts the Justice Department smack in the middle of a growing partisan debate over civil rights and minorities’ access to the ballot. Several states, including Texas, have passed new requirements requiring voters to present photo ID before casting their vote. Advocates of the law say it is necessary to prevent voter fraud. Texas is also dealing with a controversial redistricting plan that is headed to the Supreme Court. At the heart of the controversy is whether the states’ new Congressional districts, a result of population growth recorded in the 2010 census, accurately reflect the growth in the states’ minority populations.
Matt Largey, reporter for KUT, Austin Public Radio, has been covering the story.
The story you just read is available to read for free because thousands of listeners and readers like you generously support our nonprofit newsroom. Every day, the reporters and producers at The World are hard at work bringing you human-centered news from across the globe. But we can’t do it without you: We need your support to ensure we can continue this work for another year.
When you make a gift of $10 or more a month, we’ll invite you to a virtual behind-the-scenes tour of our newsroom to thank you for being with The World.