U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder claimed “vindication” on Tuesday for the Department of Justice’s efforts to crack down on voter identification laws in the wake of the Supreme Court’s landmark decision last year in Shelby County to gut a centerpiece of the Voting Rights Act.
In an interview with TPM, the soon-to-step-down Holder pointed to a federal judge’s ruling that Texas’s voter ID law was designed with “discriminatory purpose” and amounted to an unconstitutional “poll tax” on Lone Star State residents.
“We are heartened by what we saw,” Holder told TPM. “We think it is a vindication of the approach we have taken. And no matter what follows, this is a legal fight worth waging. … We couldn’t allow the states to interpret the Shelby County decision as open season on the right of people to vote — to have a war on the ability of the American people to exercise their right to vote.”
The state of Texas is appealing the ruling. It is “uncertain,” Holder conceded, that the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals, one of the most conservative courts in the country, will agree with the federal trial judge. Nor is it clear what would happen if the issue lands at the Supreme Court again.
But Holder wants to send a warning shot to any state or jurisdiction that might consider restrictive voting laws: We will come after you.
“This Justice Department will use whatever tools we have and opposed any effort designed to impinge on that most fundamental right,” the attorney general said. “We remain vigilant. We have the tools to hold them responsible … and we are going to use them.”
If the reasoning by Judge Nelva Gonzales Ramos is upheld, the Obama administration may be able to use Section 3 of the Voting Rights Act to “bail in” Texas under the requirement that states pre-approve any changes to their voting laws with the Justice Department or a federal court. (The Supreme Court invalidated the formula used to determine which jurisdictions it applies to.)
Holder called the judge’s scathing opinion “really, really striking — judges don’t use that kind of language. Judges are, small c, conservative when judging intent.” Asked if the ruling would help the administration put Texas back under preclearance, Holder said, “We’re not presuming anything. We’re hopeful.”
