Issue Position: Enact Strong Voter ID Laws

Issue Position

Voter fraud in Texas and throughout our country is real, and Greg Abbott believes that we need to enact strong Voter ID laws in Texas to prevent cheating at the ballot box and ensure integrity in the electoral system. While critics argue that Voter ID laws suppress votes, the U.S. Supreme Court has already approved Voter ID as a legal, nondiscriminatory response to voter fraud.

Voter ID laws do not prevent legal votes. Instead, they ensure legal votes are not discounted by illegal ones. Every state that has implemented Voter ID laws has seen an increase in minority voter participation and there's no reason not to expect the same in Texas.

The Department of Justice was attempting to stop implementation of voter ID laws including the Texas law. General Abbott filed an amicus brief with the United States Supreme Court in the case of Shelby County, Alabama v. Eric Holder. Arguing that Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act is flawed and undermines the principle of sovereignty.

On June 25, 2013, the United States Supreme Court determined in the case of Shelby County, Alabama v. Eric Holder that Section 4, which subjected Texas to preclearance by the Justice Department, was unconstitutional. That very day, General Abbott announced that Texas would implement its duly passed Voter ID law.

Source