Justice Department sues Texas over voter ID law

The Justice Department announced it will sue Texas over the state's voter identification law.

It also plans to intervene in a case regarding the state's redistricting laws, which it maintains are discriminatory.

Attorney General Eric Holder said on Thursday, “Today’s action marks another step forward in [our] continuing effort to protect the voting rights of all eligible Americans."

The move comes less than two months after the US Supreme Court struck down key parts of the Voting Rights Act in a 5-4 vote.

“We will not allow the Supreme Court’s recent decision to be interpreted as open season for states to pursue measures that suppress voting rights," Holder explained.

He said the DOJ would take action against "any attempt to hinder access to the ballot box, no matter where it occurs," and that the government was determined to use "all available authorities, including remaining sections of the Voting Rights Act, to guard against discrimination."

The government is also seeking to intervene in a legal case governing Texas’s 2011 redistricting plans for the US Congress and the Texas State House of Representatives which impacts the state's new voting map.

“[The Justice Department] will use all the tools it has available to ensure that each citizen can cast a ballot free from impermissible discrimination,” said Jocelyn Samuels, Acting Assistant Attorney General for the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “The right to the franchise is one of the most fundamental promises of American democracy.”

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