Washington, DC – In response to decisions by courts to strike down photo ID laws in Texas and Wisconsin, DNC Chair Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz released the following statement:

“With less than ten days before early voting starts in Texas and Wisconsin, I am pleased with the judicial decisions yesterday striking down burdensome photo ID laws in those states.

“Photo ID laws have been put forward as a solution to the virtually non-existent problem of voter impersonation. As the federal judge ruled in the Texas case, the GOP written photo ID law ‘creates an unconstitutional burden on the right to vote, has an impermissible discriminatory effect against Hispanics and African-Americans, and was imposed with an unconstitutional discriminatory purpose.’

“The Democratic Party is committed to expanding the vote, because our nation is stronger when more people participate in the process. We will continue our efforts to register and turn out more voters, and push back against Republican efforts to restrict access to the ballot box.

“Democrats believe that voting should be easier and more convenient. Even as we applaud these court actions, we know that changes this close to Election Day may cause confusion. If voters have questions regarding when to vote, where to vote, or what they need to bring with them to their polling location, they can find the rules of the road for their state at IWillVote.com or VoyAVotar2014.com.”