The Texas voter ID law was enacted in 2011 with the intent to discriminate against minority voters, a federal judge ruled Monday.

U.S. District Judge Nelva Gonzales Ramos dismissed Republican assertions that the identification law was intended to combat voter fraud, calling that rationale a "pretext" to suppress the voting rights of Hispanics and African Americans, who overwhelmingly support Democrats.

"There was no substance to the justifications offered for the draconian terms of SB 14," the Corpus Christi judge said, concluding that the law known as Senate Bill 14 violated the U.S. Voting Rights Act.

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