Alabama instituted a tough new voter ID law that could disenfranchise hundreds of thousands of people. Then it closed dozens of driver's license offices, including in eight of the 10 most heavily non-white counties in the state. And now Alabama is getting sued:
The NAACP Legal Defense Fund is bringing the suit on behalf of Greater Birmingham Ministries and the Alabama NAACP. It was filed Wednesday in U.S. District Court in the Northern District of Alabama.
"The Photo ID Law was conceived and operates as a purposeful device to further racial discrimination, and results in Alabama’s African-American and Latino (or Hispanic) voters having less opportunity than other members of the electorate to participate effectively in the political process and to elect candidates of their choice," the complaint says, alleging the law violates the Voting Rights Act as well as the 14th and 15th Amendments of the Constitution.
In the NAACP LDF statement announcing the legal challenge, President and Director-Counsel Sherrilyn Ifill pointed to the DMV closures as prompting the suit.
“The State’s deliberate decision to enforce this discriminatory photo ID law, followed by the DMV office closures, has compelled us to take action,” Ifill said. The legal complaint references the closures as well.
Of course the lawsuit comes in the context of a Voting Rights Act already weakened by the Supreme Court, and a Supreme Court that’s probably willing to go further to weaken voting rights. But at least Alabama Republicans will have to keep dealing with the fallout from their voter suppression.
