Now, voters lacking one of the state’s seven approved forms of identification may sign an affidavit and cast a ballot. The state also agreed to spend $2.5 million on voter outreach before the November election.

The agreement, filed in U.S. district court Wednesday, was reached by the state and opponents to the law.

A federal judge must still approve the change.

The agreement is a huge win for civil rights and minority activist groups, who argue it disenfranchised poor, minority and disabled voters. Experts testified that more than 600,000 registered voters, or 4.5 percent of voters, lack one of the required IDs.

Under the agreement, election officials may not question a voter lacking the required identification before allowing them to cast a regular ballot. A vote can only be thrown out if an election judge has evidence to conclude that they are impersonating a voter.

Voters may then show an alternate form of identification, such as a paycheck, utility bill or any other government document with the voter’s name and address.

Texas’ voter ID law was passed by lawmakers in 2011 and used for the first time in the November 2014 election. Under the law, voters are required to present one of seven approved forms of government-issued ID at the polls, such as a driver’s license, passport or a permit to carry a handgun. Student IDs were not accepted at the polls.

The law repeatedly has been challenged in court. In July, the U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans ruled the law violated parts of the Voting Rights Act. It was booted back to a U.S. district court in Texas to determine how to change the law before the presidential election in November.

Texas Democratic Chairman Gilberto Hinojosa called the ruling a “huge victory.”

“When you have a law that makes it difficult for those folks to go out and vote, you hurt Democrats,” he said in July. “But more than anything it was a huge victory for Texans.”

But Republican state officials point to the ID law as a way to halt voter fraud in the state.

Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick helped author the bill.

“Our photo voter ID law in Texas was supported by probably 65 to 70 percent of the people – Republicans and Democrats,” he told News21 at the Republican National Convention. “No one wants voter fraud.”

Marc Rylander, a spokesman for the Attorney General’s office, said “the case is not over” in an emailed statement Wednesday. The office will consider an appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court.

“Given the time constraints of the November elections and the direction of the 5th Circuit, today’s filings pertain to a proposed interim remedy while we continue evaluating all options moving forward,” he said.

State Democratic Chairman Gilberto Hinojosa said the law places a burden on minority voters, decreasing the number of Democrats who can turn out to vote. (Photo by Pinar Istek/News21)

PHOENIX  – Texas’ strict voter ID law, which requires voters to show a government-issued photo ID at the polls, violates the Voting Rights Act, a federal appeals court ruled Wednesday in a 9-6 decision.

The law, which Republican lawmakers pushed through the Legislature in 2011, is one of the strictest in the country. The law requires voters to present one form of government-issued ID at the polls, such as a driver’s license, passport or a permit to carry a handgun.

The 5th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the law has a racially discriminatory effect and pointed out that Texas lawmakers passed the law on an expedited schedule without evidence of voter fraud at the polls.

“The bill did nothing to combat mail-in ballot fraud, although record evidence shows that the potential and reality of fraud is much greater in the mail-in ballot context than with in-person voting,” the court’s majority opinion said.

Attorney General Loretta Lynch released a statement Wednesday saying she’s “pleased” with the ruling: “This decision affirms our position that Texas’s highly restrictive voter ID law abridges the right to vote on account of race or color and orders appropriate relief before yet another election passes.”

The strict law couldn’t be enforced until June 2013, when the U.S. Supreme Court gutted parts of the Voting Rights Act that had required some states, including Texas, to receive permission from the federal government before making changes to its voting laws.

In May, the 15-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit heard arguments from Texas Solicitor General Scott Keller and attorneys representing the opponents of the voter ID law. The Supreme Court gave the appeals court a July 20 deadline to rule.

Circuit Judge Edith Jones, joined by four others, wrote in a dissent that the law does not a place a burden on voters.

“Requiring a voter to verify her identity with a photo ID at the polling place is a reasonable requirement widely supported by Texans of all races and members of the public belonging to both political parties,” Jones wrote.

The law has been challenged since it first went into effect in 2011. Prior to the ruling, a federal district court and a panel of 5th Circuit judges ruled the law violated the Voting Rights Act.

The district court found that more than 600,000 Texans lack the required identification. Experts testified that African-Americans were 1.78 times more likely – and Latinos were 2.42 times more likely – than whites to lack the identification.

Despite the rulings striking down the law, officials have required voters to show identification at the polls since 2013.

In an interview earlier this month, State Democratic Party Chairman Gilberto Hinojosa said the law places a burden on minority voters, decreasing the number of Democrats who can turn out to vote.

“The Republican Party is not stupid,” Hinojosa said. “They’re doing everything possible to make their chances better to make sure Hispanics don’t participate in the electoral process.”

Opponents of the law argued that scores of Texas voters would have to drive miles to obtain a free Election Identification Certificate to vote or a driver’s license. The certificates were created so eligible voters could obtain free identification to vote if they lacked one of the valid forms of ID.

According to records obtained by News21, 74 Texas counties do not have a Department of Public Safety office to obtain or renew a driver’s license – one of the most common forms of voter identification.

Republicans argue the law is necessary to stop voter fraud. During South by Southwest in Austin earlier this year, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott called voter fraud “rampant” in the state. After the ruling, Abbott said in a statement that “voter fraud is real, and it undermines the integrity of the election process.”

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton released a statement following the ruling.

“It is imperative that the state government safeguards our elections and ensures the integrity of our democratic process,” he said. “ … it is unfortunate that this common-sense law, providing against fraud was not upheld in its entirety.”

Wednesday’s ruling sent the case back to the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas.

News21 reporters Elizabeth Campbell and Amber Reece contributed to this report.

Texas has 254 counties, but 74 lack a driver’s license office. There are eight new driver’s license offices opening this year in counties that don’t have one, department spokesman Tom Vinger said.

Texas has one of the strictest voter ID laws in the country, where voters are required to present a government-issued ID to vote. The law went into effect in 2013 after the Supreme Court struck down Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act that required certain states, including Texas, to obtain federal preclearance before implementing any changes to their voting laws. Some eligible forms of identification include a Texas driver’s license, a passport or a license to carry a handgun.

Civil rights groups challenged the law, which is now pending at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit. The Supreme Court gave the 15 judges a July 20 deadline to rule on whether the law is a proper way to combat voter fraud or if it disenfranchises minority voters. Opponents of the law argue that it is less likely elderly, poor and minority voters will have the proper forms of identification, including a driver’s license, which is perhaps the most common form of identification.

A Texas resident must physically go to a driver’s license office to obtain a license for the first time. Residents can renew their license online, but they must renew in person every other time to update their photo.

The DPS has a lot of ground to cover to make sure its programs are available to everyone in the huge state, but Vinger said in many cases, a resident may live down the road from the nearest DPS office in another county.

“An individual’s home can be located near a driver license office that is not actually in their county of residence,” he said in an email.

There is no driver’s license office in Edwards County, which has a population of 1,478, and no plans to open an office in the county this year, according to DPS records.

But that makes a long drive for residents in the West Texas town of Rocksprings located in the county. The town has a population of a little more than 1,000 people and has 666 registered voters, according to the Edwards County Tax Assessor Collector. Its residents drive at least an hour to the closest driver’s license office in Del Rio.

In other cases, a county may have a driver’s license office, but residents could still live miles away from it. Residents of Terlingua, a West Texas town near Big Bend National Park in Brewster County, are about an hour and a half away from the only DPS office in the county. There are 516 active voters in the town, according to the Brewster County Tax Assessor Collector.

Alicia Pierce, a spokeswoman for the Secretary of State’s office, said it’s unusual to find a citizen who lives more than a few miles from the nearest driver’s license office, but they may vote by mail without an ID. To be eligible to vote by mail in the state, a voter must be 65 years or older, disabled, out of the county or confined in jail.

According to Vinger, there are additional programs to help Texans who a lack government-issued photo ID. The department began providing free Election Identification Certificates in June 2013 at the county level and through mobile units for voters who don’t have the proper documents to vote.

The certificates are free for a Texas resident who can provide documentation to verify U.S. citizenship and a voter registration card. Officials have released 760 Election Identification Certificates to voters since 2013, according to the DPS.

Follow Nicole Cobler on Twitter @nicolecobler.

AUSTIN – The U.S. Supreme Court upheld Texas'”one person, one vote” system in April. The ruling was seen as a victory for legislators – mostly Democrats – who represent areas made up of high populations of people who are not eligible to vote.

Austin’s NAACP chapter president Nelson Linder called  the ruling “encouraging for voters.”

The local Austin chapter focuses on educating its members about their voting rights, but Linder said he has seen very few voters face barriers at the polls since becoming president.

Linder said Austin leaders do well to inform their residents about their voting rights, but he said Texas’ strict voter ID law is a barrier on elderly people and students. He also argued that Gov. Greg Abbott’s recent claim of voter fraud being “rampant” in the state was unlikely.

“Somebody said there are more UFOs than voter fraud,” he said. “I think that’s about right.”

Follow Nicole Cobler on Twitter @nicolecobler. Follow Pinar Istek at @pinaristek.