Ft Worth Star Telegram 7/12/12
Testimony wraps up in Texas Voter ID law trial
WASHINGTON — Testimony in a week-long trial that will determine the fate of Texas' controversial voter ID law wrapped up Thursday with an expert witness for the Justice Department telling a federal court the law would affect minority voters more than white ones.
Steve Ansolabehere, a Harvard University professor and expert in statistics and elections, said his research shows the 2011 Texas law is more likely to affect black and Hispanic voters than white ones.
He then seemed to back pedal on that claim under cross examination, noting the limits of his research when pressed by lawyers for the state of Texas and three judges hearing the case. Ansolabehere acknowledged there could be "legitimate critiques" of his research and that tweaks could make it more precise.
Lawyers for Texas had argued that Ansolabehere's research methods were flawed. On cross-examination, they presented him with some names from a list of people he had said could be affected by the law. They included people who were well-know, such as former President George W. Bush and Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, R-Texas.
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