Here's something I didn't expect to see today.
The arch conservative 5th Circuit Court of Appeals based in New Orleans has ruled that a Texas voter ID law violates the Voting Rights Act.
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — A federal appeals court ruled Wednesday that Texas' strict voter ID law violates the Voting Rights Act and ordered changes before the November election.
The ruling from the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals instructs a lower court to make changes that fix the "discriminatory effect" of the 2011 law, but to do so in a way that disrupts this year's election season as little as possible.
Today's ruling was handed down en banc, meaning the entire 5th Circuit panel of 17 judges reviewed the case. The only way the state's case could proceed is through a Supreme Court challenge.
It would be an understatement to say that a law must be exceptionally bad if the 5th Circuit Court is willing to rule against it. Conservative legal trolls routinely judge-shop under the 5th Circuit's jurisdiction knowing that they're more likely to receive a favorable ruling there than under other federal jurisdictions.