5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals OK's Texas voter ID law

FILE - In this Feb. 26, 2014 file photo, an election official checks a voter's photo identification at an early voting polling site in Austin, Texas. A federal judge Wednesday, Aug. 23, 2017, again threw out Texas’ voter ID requirements that she previously compared to a “poll tax” on minorities, dealing another court setback to state Republican leaders over voting rights. less FILE - In this Feb. 26, 2014 file photo, an election official checks a voter's photo identification at an early voting polling site in Austin, Texas. A federal judge Wednesday, Aug. 23, 2017, again threw out ... more Photo: Eric Gay, AP Photo: Eric Gay, AP Image 1 of / 3 Caption Close 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals OK's Texas voter ID law 1 / 3 Back to Gallery

A federal appeals court has upheld the latest version of the state's voter ID law.

In a 2 to 1 ruling released late Friday, a three judge panel with the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said opponents of the revised voter ID requirements in Texas had failed to prove fixes the Legislature made to its original voter ID law had "discriminatory effect on indigent minority voters."

Opponents of the revised voter ID law known as SB 5, had argued that despite changes to the original statute passed in 2011, the law still presented a barrier to voting for people who did not have access to a photo identification.

The revised law, passed in 2017, still calls for one of seven acceptable forms of photo ID to cast a ballot. It lets people without one of those forms of ID vote, but they have to sign an affidavit and show a utility bill or paycheck that has the person's name and address.

Attorney General Ken Paxton was quick to applaud the decision.

"The court rightly recognized that when the Legislature passed Senate Bill 5 last session, it complied with every change the 5th Circuit ordered to the original voter ID law," Paxton said. "Safeguarding the integrity of our elections is essential to preserving our democracy. The revised voter ID law removes any burden on voters who cannot obtain a photo ID."

In August, Judge Nelva Gonzales Ramos of U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas issued a permanent injuction against the revised voter ID law, calling it a "poll tax" on minority voters. In September, a federal appeals court blocked that ruling from going into full effect in order to hear the merits for and against the state's appeal.

Jeremy Wallace writes about state politics and government for the Chronicle. Follow him on Twitter at @JeremySWallace.