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Commentary: How voting rights’ victories could change the presidential raceU.S. courts have finally struck back against Republican efforts to restrict voting rights. A series of recent key decisions involving Texas, North Carolina, Wisconsin and North Dakota forcefully block state laws aimed at excluding minority voters.The rulings roll back regressive election laws, passed by Republican-controlled state legislatures, that made it harder for African-American, Latino and American Indian voters — who skew overwhelmingly Democratic — to cast ballots. The laws narrowed photo ID requirements, cut back on early voting and imposed registration hurdles.The federal appellate court rulings in North Carolina and Texas rebut these restrictive laws, signaling that courts will be less accepting of such deterrence in future. Both courts rejected the contention that the photo ID laws protected against vote fraud. This thoroughly discredited argument may have finally run its course. There is virtually no proof that substantial in-person vote fraud — the only kind that a photo ID law could prevent — occurs in U.S. elections. In addition, last Friday, a federal district court in Wisconsin struck down a number of restrictive election provisions. Then, on Monday, a federal court in North Dakota blocked the state’s strict photo ID law because of its effect on Native Americans.See More At: http://www.reuters.com/article/us-elections-voting-race-commentary-idUSKCN10E09U
