Ellis: Voter ID law 'has everything to do with race' Houston Chronicle Copyright 2012 Houston Chronicle. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Published 08:26 p.m., Wednesday, July 11, 2012 Texas Sen. Rodney Ellis testified in a federal trial Wednesday that the same racial attitudes that delayed passage of a state hate crimes bill were behind the passage of a voter ID law that the Justice Department claims would disenfranchise minorities. The Justice Department has blocked the law, saying the new measure - requiring voters to show a government-issued card with a photo, or a passport or license to carry a concealed weapon - could disenfranchise 1.4 million elderly, minority and student voters. Shaw, who was hired by GOP strategist Karl Rove to work on George W.