The Texas State Constitution stated crime can be prosecuted after the fact and not before it. The Voter ID Law was prosecuting crime not yet committed.
October 2, 2014
By Terry Langford
While a federal judge in Corpus Christi (click here) mulls whether the state's requirement to show photo ID to cast a ballot violates the federal Voting Rights Act, a judge on the highest criminal appeals court in Texas is taking another approach: He's suing the state over its relatively new voter ID law.
Judge Lawrence "Larry" Meyers' lawsuit, filed in Dallas County, claims the voting law enacted last year violates the Texas Constitution because it attempts to "prevent" voter fraud, something he says the state's governing charter never intended.
Meyers' lawsuit states that "the Texas Constitution gives the Texas Legislature power solely to 'detect and punish' election fraud when it has already occurred." In an interview on Wednesday, Meyers said the Constitution says nothing about preventing election fraud.
"It's legally unconstitutional, and it's an affront to every voter in the state of Texas," Meyers said.
Calls to the Texas attorney general's office regarding who would be defending the state's voter ID law if Meyers' case moves forward were not immediately returned....
October 2, 2014
By Terry Langford
While a federal judge in Corpus Christi (click here) mulls whether the state's requirement to show photo ID to cast a ballot violates the federal Voting Rights Act, a judge on the highest criminal appeals court in Texas is taking another approach: He's suing the state over its relatively new voter ID law.
Judge Lawrence "Larry" Meyers' lawsuit, filed in Dallas County, claims the voting law enacted last year violates the Texas Constitution because it attempts to "prevent" voter fraud, something he says the state's governing charter never intended.
Meyers' lawsuit states that "the Texas Constitution gives the Texas Legislature power solely to 'detect and punish' election fraud when it has already occurred." In an interview on Wednesday, Meyers said the Constitution says nothing about preventing election fraud.
"It's legally unconstitutional, and it's an affront to every voter in the state of Texas," Meyers said.
Calls to the Texas attorney general's office regarding who would be defending the state's voter ID law if Meyers' case moves forward were not immediately returned....
