Texas Democrats are renewing their opposition to the state's voter-identification law, rolling out a program to educate voters ahead of a decisive few months that could see the controversial statute become a top issue in the governor's race.

The law is considered one of the toughest of its kind in the country, requiring voters to show one of a few types of identification cards at the polls. Those whose actual names do not match the names on their IDs must sign an affidavit attesting to their identities.

The gubernatorial campaign of state Sen. Wendy Davis, Battleground Texas and the Texas Democratic Party on Wednesday announced a "voter protection" program to tackle the issue by dispatching more than 8,000 volunteers to help with voter registration and making sure voters know what the law requires. The project will also raise awareness for the early voting period, during which an "election protection" hotline will go live. On Election Day, the program will send thousands of volunteers to monitor polling locations across Texas, confirm the sites are overseen by both Democratic and Republican election judges, and open "command centers" in eight cities staffed with election law experts and lawyers "ready to go to court if necessary," according to Democratic officials.

"We have certainly never accomplished anything in America with less democracy, and we aren't going to start now," Davis told volunteers on a conference call. "We want more Texans to participate in this election, not less."

Mark P. Jones, a political scientist at Rice University, said the project is probably more aimed at highlighting Republican support for voter ID than "actually combatting it in the trenches."

Still, voter ID is an issue to watch as the governor's race emerges from the summer. Here are three reasons why it is not going away anytime soon:

1. Partisans across the country bicker endlessly about voter ID laws. Democrats argue they are designed to discourage traditionally Democratic voters, especially minorities, from going to the polls, while Republicans maintain they are just trying to combat voter fraud and ensure the integrity of elections.

Politics aside, one thing is for sure: With a nationally watched governor's race on the ballot, this November will present the biggest test of the law yet. The statute was in effect for the 2013 statewide election, but it was an off year, and hardly enough people showed up at the polls – turnout among registered voters was 8.6 percent – to reach any serious conclusions about how it works in practice.

"Voters who participate in low turnout elections tend to be those who are more knowledgeable of the process, and therefore more likely to know what they need and have taken the time to get it," Sondra Haltom, voter expansion project director for the Texas Democratic Party, wrote in an email. "It remains to be seen what will happen when voters who don't usually vote except in major elections go to the polls."

2. A lawsuit challenging the voter ID law in federal court is set to go to trial Sept. 2, two months before Election Day. Attorney General Greg Abbott, Davis' Republican opponent, is expected to defend it as the state's top lawyer. A defeat could energize the same types of Texas Democrats that the Davis campaign long have described as part of its winning strategy: first-time voters tapped from the state's minority populations.

Davis wasted no time Wednesday pointing out Abbott's support for the law, telling volunteers he is "using our tax dollars to fight against our own rights." On the campaign trail, Abbott has riled up supporters by framing the case as the federal government trying to meddle with a successful state law that tackles a real problem. He has pledged to take the case to the Supreme Court.

From the beginning, the case was guaranteed to receive national attention because the Obama administration is taking the lead on it. The governor's race only adds another layor of intrigue.

The trial easily could wrap up before Election Day, though Gilberto Hinojosa, chairman of the Texas Democratic Party, said on the conference call that his organization is not "waiting around on that decision" to highlight Abbott's stance on the law.

3. The issue neatly fits into the candidates' leading knocks on one another.

For Davis, the issue closely tracks with her attack on Abbott as an insider looking out for some, not all, Texans. Democratic state Rep. Trey Martinez Fischer of San Antonio helped Davis sharpen this criticism Wednesday, calling Abbott and his allies "voter bullies."

Abbott could use the trial to tie Davis closer to the star plaintiff in the voter ID lawsuit: the Obama administration, which is widely unpopular in Texas and with whom Davis has steered clear of appearing too cozy. Abbott has already suggested the Justice Department is working with Texas Democrats to challenge the state's redistricting maps.

The potential attacks all point to anything but a campaign homestretch light on voter ID talking points. As for the Democrats' "voter protection" program, Jones said it is "far more about political posturing than having an actual effect on turnout."