Senate rivals Cruz and O'Rourke split on ruling tossing Texas Voter ID law

UNITED STATES - NOVEMBER 13: Rep.-elect Beto O'Rourke, D-Texas, speaks to reporters after a news conference with democratic members-elect in the Capitol Visitor Center. (Photo By Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call) UNITED STATES - NOVEMBER 13: Rep.-elect Beto O'Rourke, D-Texas, speaks to reporters after a news conference with democratic members-elect in the Capitol Visitor Center. (Photo By Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call) Photo: Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc. Photo: Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc. Image 1 of / 3 Caption Close Senate rivals Cruz and O'Rourke split on ruling tossing Texas Voter ID law 1 / 3 Back to Gallery

WASHINGTON – Texas U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, running for reelection next year, slammed Wednesday's federal court ruling throwing out Texas' voter ID law, which the judge had compared to a "poll tax" on minorities.

Cruz's Democratic challenger, U.S. Rep. Beto O'Rourke, issued a contrasting statement praising the decision.

Cruz, in El Paso to tour the border and meet with workers at a technology company, issued a statement Thursday predicting that the decision of U.S. District Court Judge Nelva Gonzales Ramos will be overturned by the more conservative Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans.

"The Voter ID law is a commonsense protection to safeguard the rights of every Texan and to prevent illegal voter fraud," Cruz said. "The district judge's opinion to the contrary violates Supreme Court precedent, and I trust that the Fifth Circuit will reverse it on appeal."

Cruz led the filing of an amicus brief last year on behalf of the entire Texas Republican congressional delegation supporting Texas' 2011 Voter ID law.

In a fundraising pitch to supporters, O'Rourke, of El Paso, criticized the GOP-backed law, one of the strictest in the nation.

"It's deeply cynical that the state of Texas would implement laws that knowingly make it more difficult for African-American and Latino voters to cast their ballots," he said. "These racist voter ID laws, in partnership with intentional gerrymandering, have rigged elections for far too long."

The decision of the district judge in Corpus Christi was the second time she had invalidated the Texas voter ID law, ruling that a watered-down version the Legislature passed this year still discriminates against black and Latino voters.

The judge's finding comes after a judicial panel invalidated two of Texas' congressional districts because of race-based gerrymandering. The rulings have the potential to affect next year's state and federal elections – including a widely-anticipated Cruz-O'Rourke matchup – although appeals are expected in both cases.

Citing concerns over voter fraud, Republicans in Texas have spent years fighting to preserve the state's voter ID law, which requires voters to show certain documents before casting a ballot.

The newly-weakened version of the law still required voters to present one of seven acceptable forms of photo ID. But it would let people without such identification vote, so long as they sign an affidavit and bring paperwork, such as a utility bill or paycheck.

Ramos, however, said the change still would have a discriminatory and chilling effect, "replacing the lack of qualified photo ID with an overreaching affidavit threatening severe penalties for perjury."