Judges Use Common Sense to Reject Voter ID Laws

Are the federal courts revolting against the U.S. Supreme Court by striking down voter identification laws? In 2008, the justices upheld Indiana’s voter ID law, and, in 2013, the court gutted the Voting Rights Act. Together these decisions signaled to the states that they could enact laws that superficially seem like reasonable protections of the voting process but actually make it harder for minorities to vote.

In the last two weeks alone, however, federal courts have used the Voting Rights Act to strike down ID laws in Texas, North Carolina, Wisconsin and North Dakota. The timing of the decisions isn’t coincidental: Courts are rushing to get opinions out in time to set the rules for November’s election. Collectively, the decisions show that the federal courts aren’t giving up the Voting Rights Act for dead -- and that they aren’t taking guidance from the Supreme Court’s conservative majority.