The Department of Justice announced Thursday it filed a lawsuit against Texas and its secretary of state over parts of an election reform bill Gov. Greg Abbott signed into state law in September.
The complaint (pdf) alleges that the measure, also referred to as Texas Senate Bill 1, violates Section 208 of the Voting Rights Act by “improperly restricting” assistance to voters with a disability or are unable to read or write in the polling booth, the DOJ announced.
Specifically, people assisting the voters who need help to fill out their ballot must, under SB1, take a longer revised oath that has six new or revised requirements, including the removal of previous language about answering voters’ questions.
In the complaint, the DOJ alleges that by requiring the revised oath, the measure “prohibits assistors from answering a voter’s questions, explaining the voting process, paraphrasing complex language, and providing other forms of voting assistance that some qualified voters require to cast an informed and effective vote.”
The DOJ complaint also says that SB1 violates Section 101 of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 because it requires that mail ballots and mail ballot request forms be rejected if there are certain paperwork errors or omissions that the DOJ says “are not material to establishing a voter’s eligibility to cast a ballot.”
Specifically, SB1 requires new identification number requirements for both mail ballot applications and mail ballot carrier envelopes; voters must provide the number of their driver’s license or the last four digits of their Social Security number. The DOJ acknowledged in the suit that prior to SB1, Texas “did not require an identification document number or partial social security number to establish qualifications to vote in an election or to cast a mail ballot.”
The Department of Justice announced Thursday it filed a lawsuit against Texas and its secretary of state over parts of an election reform bill Gov. Greg Abbott signed into state law in September.
The complaint (pdf) alleges that the measure, also referred to as Texas Senate Bill 1, violates Section 208 of the Voting Rights Act by “improperly restricting” assistance to voters with a disability or are unable to read or write in the polling booth, the DOJ announced.
Specifically, people assisting the voters who need help to fill out their ballot must, under SB1, take a longer revised oath that has six new or revised requirements, including the removal of previous language about answering voters’ questions.
In the complaint, the DOJ alleges that by requiring the revised oath, the measure “prohibits assistors from answering a voter’s questions, explaining the voting process, paraphrasing complex language, and providing other forms of voting assistance that some qualified voters require to cast an informed and effective vote.”
The DOJ complaint also says that SB1 violates Section 101 of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 because it requires that mail ballots and mail ballot request forms be rejected if there are certain paperwork errors or omissions that the DOJ says “are not material to establishing a voter’s eligibility to cast a ballot.”
Specifically, SB1 requires new identification number requirements for both mail ballot applications and mail ballot carrier envelopes; voters must provide the number of their driver’s license or the last four digits of their Social Security number. The DOJ acknowledged in the suit that prior to SB1, Texas “did not require an identification document number or partial social security number to establish qualifications to vote in an election or to cast a mail ballot.”
(post is archived)