🚨 Texas Will Offer Online Voter Registration Through DMV After Democratic Lawsuit

[Nevilledog]

Link to tweet

Tweet text:
Marc E. Elias
@marceelias
🚨BREAKING: Texas settles federal lawsuit with @dscc, @dccc, @texasdemocrats and civil rights groups to allow online voter registration when an eligible voter renews/updates their driver's license online.

Proud to be a part of this effort in court!

Texas Will Offer Online Voter Registration Through DMV After Democratic Lawsuit
Read the settlement here.
democracydocket.com
10:29 AM · Aug 2, 2021

https://www.democracydocket.com/2021/08/texas-will-offer-online-voter-registration-through-dmv-after-democratic-lawsuit/


WASHINGTON, D.C. — Last Friday, individual Texan voters, the Texas Democratic Party, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) and the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC) settled a five-year long lawsuit with Texas over its noncompliance with the National Voter Registration Act (NVRA). The settlement outlines the state’s plans to permanently offer simultaneous voter registration when an eligible voter renews or updates his or her driver’s licenses or ID cards online — an option not offered before this litigation.

The lawsuit, filed in March 2016 by the Texas Civil Rights Project on behalf of individual Texas voters, challenged the state’s misleading practice of providing the option to register to vote when completing online transactions with the transportation agency. Notably, checking this option did not actually register someone to vote, which violated the NVRA’s requirement that states offer voter registration or the ability to update registrations when an eligible voter obtains, renews or updates his or her driver’s license. The U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas found that this practice violated the NVRA and 14th Amendment and struck the law down, but after the voters updated their registration, the court found that they no longer had standing to sue. The Texas Democratic Party, DSCC and DCCC successfully intervened in the case to expand this victory. The court ordered the state to comply with the NVRA in August 2020 and since then, over one million Texans have registered to vote while completing an online driver’s license transaction. The settlement makes the court-ordered compliance permanent throughout the state.

[samsingh]

1. this sounds like good news.

[Roland99]

2. Marc Elias - Hero of Democracy!

[questionseverything]

16. He really is a hero

We need thousands more like him

[pecosbob]

3. This is a BFD!

[brooklynite]

4. I brought up a point about this with DNC last week.

Lawsuits and legislation are fine, but in the meantime, we should be preparing people to vote under the rules that exist: get them acceptable ID, get them registered, prepare them to vote in person or to properly fill out absentee ballots.

[questionseverything]

17. We need to address it from both sides

Fighting illegal discrimination in court

And


Preparing to out vote them even with all the obstacles they have put in place

[LanternWaste]

21. Is anyone at the DNC arguing not to prepare?

Arguing not to get them acceptable ID? Or arguing against properly filling out ballots?

[rumleyfips]

5. Voting rights

Mess with Texas; you'll win.

[a kennedy]

6. This sure is good news.......👏 👏 👏

[getagrip_already]

7. ok, a great step, but...

Are their licenses a valid form of ID for voting in Texas? Can you get a TX id if you don't drive (In MA, you can get an ID from the DMV even if you don't have a drivers license) and are they affordable?

And will they have open polling stations where people actually vote?

Don't get me wrong, easy voter registration is critical. But being able to actually vote is the goal.

[Slammer]

11. ID

Yeah, drivers licenses are valid for voting purposes. If you don't drive, you can get a non-drivers license (not sure about the name of it), but which is also a valid ID for voting purposes.

It costs $33 for a license that's valid for eight years if you're less than 85 years old. After that it's $9 for a two year license.

ID cards are $16 for a six year ID.

[ananda]

12. Yes, the TDL is valid ID.

...

[Lonestarblue]

8. This is one step forward.

Now we need to recognize that not everyone has computers and an Internet connection, especially in poorer communities. It still takes physically registering voters and getting them to the polls. Texas Republicans are trying their best to prevent as many black and brown people as possible from voting. I don’t use the word “minorities” because white people are the minority in Texas. We have been a majority minority state for years, though you would never know it from state politics.

[UTUSN]

9. K&R

[LetMyPeopleVote]

10. Congrats to Mimi and the Texas Civil Rights Project

Link to tweet

[Mersky]

13. Look at that. Texans get to register to vote like it's 2021...

At least when they’re updating or renewing driver’s licenses. Good, that’s a start.

Hope the state gets the names correct going from one system to the other. When getting licenses renewed in-person, there’s been an option to automatically register. A person I know did so, and then the state dropped her middle name, causing her to get flagged as having a different name at the polls.

Thank you Texas Civil Rights Project, Marc Elias & DemocracyDocket!

[mcar]

14. Great news!

[Patterson]

15. Red state Arkansas offers you a voter registration form every time you interact with the state.

[Demovictory9]

18. but how will GOP guarantee a win in future elections?

[crickets]

19. Good news! K&R

[FakeNoose]

20. Yay! A lot of us signed petitions for this effort

I know I did. Great effort by Marc Elias and the Texas Dems!

[BeckyDem]

22. K&R