January 1, Biden administration sues Texas over new voting law

The Biden administration sued Texas over its new voting law, claiming that its new restrictions violate civil rights laws.

According to the suit, the administration takes issue with two of the measure’s provisions in particular. The first restricts what sort of assistance poll volunteers can provide to voters, banning them from explaining how voting works or the complex wording on the ballot.

The Justice Department said this violates the Voting Rights Act, which guarantees assistance to anyone who requires it due to “blindness, disability, or inability to read or write.”

“Prohibiting assistors from answering voters’ questions, responding to requests to clarify ballot translations, and confirming that voters with visual impairments have marked a ballot as intended will curtail fundamental voting rights without advancing any legitimate state interest,” the DOJ wrote in the filing.

The second provision mentioned in the lawsuit requires voters to provide identification information on mail-in ballot applications and ballot return envelopes.

The DOJ said this violates the 1964 Civil Rights Act, which states that an unrelated error on a paper or record cannot prevent someone from voting.

“Conditioning the right to cast a mail ballot on a voter’s ability to recall and recite the identification number provided on an application for voter registration months or years before will curtail fundamental voting rights without advancing any legitimate state interest,” the complaint reads.

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DoJ sues Texas over new voting law, saying restrictions violate civil rights