Richard Wolf

USA TODAY

WASHINGTON -- The Supreme Court on Monday let stand a lower court's decision striking down Texas' tough voter ID law, handing voting rights advocates a victory that could prove fleeting.

Chief Justice John Roberts warned that the case could come back to the high court after further skirmishes at the federal district court level are completed. The Trump administration received a 30-day delay in the lower court case Friday amid speculation it may switch sides and defend the law.

A federal appeals court struck down the voter identification law as discriminatory in July, giving civil rights advocates a crucial victory in advance of the 2016 election. The 9-6 ruling from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit was the third consecutive decision against the Texas law, which opponents claimed could have left up to 600,000 voters without proper ID.

The appeals court majority said the law was not intended to discriminate but had that effect on minority voters. It sent the case back to the district court to supervise changes that would allow the law to stand without discriminating.

Dissenting judges said the law was reasonable in both purpose and effect. "Requiring a voter to verify her identity with a photo ID at the polling place is a reasonable requirement widely supported by Texans of all races and members of the public belonging to both political parties," they said. The majority ruling "fans the flames of perniciously irresponsible racial name-calling."

The law was enacted in 2011, blocked by a federal district judge in 2012 and then put into effect in 2013, when the Supreme Court struck down a key part of the Voting Rights Act that had required Texas and some other states to get federal approval for voting changes. Challengers have won every court case since, but the law had remained in effect.

“I am extremely pleased that the justices recognize that this case does not merit review at this time," said Gerry Hebert of the Campaign Legal Center, which had challenged the law. "Now Texas, which ranks poorly in voter participation, should work to ensure that every eligible voter in the state is able to cast a ballot going forward.”

Kristen Clarke, president of the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, said civil rights groups are prepared to continue the fight in lower courts even without the Trump administration's help. "Voters and would-be voters have waited too long for relief in this important case," she said.

The Texas case and another challenge to North Carolina's array of voting restrictions remain the leading contenders among many voting rights cases to get to the Supreme Court as early as next fall, when the justices could define what types of voting changes are allowed and prohibited under the Voting Rights Act. The North Carolina also was struck down and has been appealed to the high court.