HOUSTON, Texas — U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, issued the following statement in response to the decision by the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals on Texas' Voter ID Law:
"I am pleased the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals invalidated much of the District Court's analysis on the Texas Voter ID Law — including the erroneous conclusion that it somehow constituted a poll tax. However, the Court's decision that SB 14 violates Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act is profoundly disappointing.
"There is nothing 'discriminatory' about a law that protects the legitimate votes of American citizens and promotes the integrity of our elections — which is precisely what Texas' common sense Voter ID Law does.
"I'm encouraged to hear that Governor Abbott intends to continue fighting to combat voter fraud to ensure that the vote of every Texan counts."
As Texas Solicitor General, Sen. Cruz authored an amicus brief on behalf of eight states in Crawford v. Marion County Election Board, defending the Indiana Voter ID Law at the U.S. Supreme Court where it was concluded that voter ID laws are constitutional and "unquestionably relevant to the State's interest in protecting the integrity and reliability of the electoral process."
Ted Cruz, Statement by Senator Ted Cruz on the Texas Voter ID Law Decision Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley, The American Presidency Project https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/node/315284