AG defends opposition to some state voter ID laws
Feb 28, 2012, 5:24 PM
WASHINGTON (AP) – Attorney General Eric Holder is defending the Justice Department’s opposition to some state laws requiring voters to present photo IDs when they go to the polls.
At a House appropriations subcommittee hearing, Holder says the federal government must think long and hard about the negative impact that photo identification requirements have on the ability of minorities, the elderly and young people to vote.
The department’s civil rights division blocked South Carolina from requiring voters to show government-issued photo identification to vote. The state has sued, seeking enforcement of the new law. Separately, Texas officials have gone to court following Justice Department questions about the Texas voter ID law. The Justice Department is asking the state for a racial breakdown on voters who do not have a state-issued license or ID.
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