Texas Teen Testifies About Voter ID Law
WASHINGTON (AP) - A Texas teenager says she'd be disenfranchised if the state's new voter ID law takes effect because she doesn't have the right documents to comply with it.
Victoria Rose Rodriguez is an 18-year-old from San Antonio. She testified in federal court in Washington on Tuesday that she has limited documentation -- a birth certificate, a high school transcript and a student ID card with a photo on it.
She's currently a registered Texas voter, but she says her parents are too busy to take her or her twin sister to get new voter identification cards required by the law. She says getting a driver's license also isn't an option because it would mean she and her sister would be added to her family's car insurance, which is too costly for her family.
Rodriguez spoke at the end of the second day of a trial to determine whether Texas new voter ID law violates the federal Voting Rights Act. Her testimony amounted to an attempt by opponents of the law to put a human face on the laws effects. Her testimony is expected to continue on Wednesday with a cross examination from Texas.
A federal court in Washington is determining the fate of the 2011 Texas law, which requires voters to show photo identification at the polls. A three-judge panel is hearing the case after the state of Texas sued the Justice Department, which blocked the law under the Act in March.
(© Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)
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