Thousands of Texans are being denied the chance to register to vote, violating federal voting laws, a new lawsuit alleges, NBC News reported.
"Texas voters will continue to be shut out of the democratic process unless and until Defendants reform their registration practices," alleges the complaint, filed Monday in a federal court in San Antonio by the Texas Civil Rights Project.
Plaintiffs in the suit say they tried to update their drivers license and voter registration records through the website of the state Department of Public Safety, and believed they had done so. But when they went to vote, they were found to be unregistered, and forced to cast provisional ballots, which likely won't count.
"I felt that my voice was taken away from me when my vote wasn't counted," said Totysa Watkins, an African-American woman from Irving, Texas, who works for a health insurer. "Voting has always been something I value and is a right I have instilled in my children. Texas should not be able to take that away."
