Q&A: What next in the long battle over Texas voter ID law?

Civil rights groups are still contesting the Texas law in federal court, but without the muscle of the federal government behind them.

A federal court found an estimated 600,000 registered voters could be disenfranchised by the law, and that some minorities lacking an acceptable identification could be forced to travel up to 250 miles round trip to obtain a state voter-ID certificate.

The Obama Justice Department refused to allow for the Texas law under a section of the Voting Rights Act that required mostly southern states with a history of discrimination, including Texas, to get election changes approved by the federal government.

U.S. District Judge Nelva Gonzales Ramos of Corpus Christi struck down the law in 2014, but it was later reinstated on a temporary basis by a federal appeals court.

Texas was required to amend voter ID education materials, including press releases, polling location posters and websites, to correctly conform to a court mandate.

If she rules against Texas, it could become the first state put back under federal supervision for voting law changes since the 2013 U.S. Supreme Court decision weakening the Voting Rights Act.

The proposal would allow a voter without an ID to sign an affidavit and would impose a criminal penalty of up to 10 years in prison for lying on a sworn declaration.