The Texas Tribune: State's Tab Defending Voter ID is $3.5 Million So Far

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“If I were a Texas taxpayer, I’d be outraged by how much money Texas is spending of my tax dollars to defend a discriminatory law.”— Gerry Hebert, executive director of the Campaign Legal Center and an attorney in the Texas voter ID litigation

Other states have defended voter ID laws in court. Wisconsin and Indiana, for instance, prevailed in cases that reached the U.S. Supreme Court. But Texas, in its particularly convoluted battles, has likely spent far more than those states, said Gerry Hebert, a prominent attorney who is helping plaintiffs in theVeaseycase.

He called the costs a “shameful waste of taxpayer money.”

“If I were a Texas taxpayer, I’d be outraged by how much money Texas is spending of my tax dollars to defend a discriminatory law,” Hebert added.

“I think ultimately if Texas is unsuccessful, they’ll be on the hook for a lot more money,” Hebert said, “and probably more than double what they’ve already spent.”

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