According to an article from Bloomberg: "Voter identification laws were passed last year in eight states. Whether the requirements are inconveniences or barriers to voting is at the core of a debate between Republican supporters who say the laws will protect election integrity, and Democrats who oppose the statutes as attempts to disenfranchise minorities and the poor."

Patricia Harless, a Republican state representative, said concerns among constituents about “the integrity of elections” rather than possible partisan advantage explains why she sponsored the voter ID measure last year. The law reduces the possibility of fraud, she said in the Bloomberg report.

Lawmakers excluded student IDs from the seven identification options because “we wanted a form of identification that was easily recognized by the poll workers at the election site,” Harless said. Voters aged 65 and older are automatically qualified to cast ballots by mail, which requires no ID, and the state will provide free voter identification cards, according to Bloomberg.

In a letter to Texas officials, the Justice Department says Hispanic voters in Texas are as much as 120 percent more likely than non-Hispanic voters to lack a driver's license or personal state-issued photo ID, according to AP.

The Justice Department’s decision isn’t final. Texas has filed suit in federal court in Washington seeking permission to enforce its photo ID requirements, reports Bloomberg.