AUSTIN, Texas — Travis County election officials are being sued by two Latino voting rights organizations in an effort to block a new Texas voter law from taking effect in September.
The lawsuit centers on Texas Senate Bill 1111, which was recently signed into law by Gov. Greg Abbott. A majority of state Republican lawmakers were able to get the law approved in the legislative session that recently ended.
It tightens residency requirements for Texans who want to vote. Among other provisions in the law, voters who rely on post office boxes will have to produce documents that show a physical address.
Voto Latino and LULAC, the organizations filing the lawsuit in federal court against Travis and several other populous Texas counties, claim it’s an attempt by a Republican-majority legislature to make voting in the state more difficult.
"The law seems to be targeting young people, people of color, folks who are in a time of their lives where they may be moving more because they're students or they're in lower-income jobs," said Danny Friedman, managing director of Voto Latino. "It's just an unnecessary set of steps that makes it harder for people to register to vote and practice that sacred franchise."
Also according to the lawsuit, some Texans, such as college students, could be blocked from registering to vote if they relocate temporarily from a previous address or use a short-term address.
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