User:PivotParty/New sandbox

As previously mentioned, Senate Bill 5 is a reformulated version of Senate Bill 14. Initially, SB 14 was taken down by Circuit Judge Tatel from the District of Columbia in the case of Texas v. Holder, 2012. In the case, Texas failed to prove that Senate Bill 14 would not have any negative consequences on racial minorities during voting, resulting in the U.S Attorney General denying preclearance needed according to Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act. However, in 2013 the coverage formula on section 4(b) of the Voting Rights Act was deemed unconstitutional in Shelby County v. Holder. Consequently, the preclearance block of SB 14 in 2012 was no longer valid, meaning that the law was finally in effect. It was only in 2017 that SB 14 was once more ruled against by both the U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals and Judge Ramos for its discriminatory impact. On August 23, 2017, U.S. District Judge Nelva Gonzales Ramos ruled that Texas Senate Bill 5 failed to sufficiently reform the discriminatory effect the original voter ID law (SB 14) had on Hispanic and black voters. The decision by Judge Ramos regarding SB 5 was appealed by the State of Texas. The U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals heard the case on December 5, 2017 and ultimately reversed Ramos' ruling. On December 8, 2017, the Appellate Court upheld SB 5 in a 2-1 decision on the grounds that intentional discrimination cannot be traced from SB 14 to the newly revised SB 5 without a new legal challenge directed specifically at SB 5.