The Department of Justice is blocking a Texas law that would require all voters to present photo identification to vote, likely further fueling an intense partisan debate on this issue.

In a letter to Texas officials, Thomas Perez, head of DOJ’s Office of Civil Rights, argued that the law could disproportionately impact Latino voters, who are more likely than white voters to not currently have driver’s licenses or other kinds of photo identification.

“Hispanic registered voters are more than twice as likely as non-Hispanic registered voters to lack such identification,” Perez wrote.

The Department of Justice also blocked South Carolina’s voter identification law in December, arguing it would disproportionally affect black and elderly voters.
South Carolina is appealing the ruling, a move Texas is very likely to make as well.