Civil and Human Rights Coalition Denounces Justice Department’s Backtracking on Texas Voter ID Law

WASHINGTON – Wade Henderson, president and CEO of The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, issued the following statement after the Department of Justice announced on Monday that it was dropping the government’s claim that a Texas voter ID law under legal challenge is intentionally racially discriminatory:

“The right to vote is the cornerstone of American democracy.  When a concerned and active citizenry is unfairly denied the right to vote, it undermines our system of government. 

The voter ID law in question seeks to disenfranchise more than 600,000 Texans, a disproportionate share of them African-American or Latino.  Multiple federal courts have already found this law to be racially discriminatory and unconstitutional.

The protection of the right to vote should not depend on which political party controls the White House. When it comes to issues of civil rights, the Justice Department must put the law above partisan interests.

This law, and others like it across the nation, only further shows the need for Congress to restore the Voting Rights Act so it truly protects the fundamental American right to vote.”

Wade Henderson is the president and CEO of The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, a coalition charged by its diverse membership of more than 200 national organizations to promote and protect the rights of all persons in the United States. The Leadership Conference works toward an America as good as its ideals. For more information on The Leadership Conference and its 200-plus member organizations, visit www.civilrights.org.