WASHINGTON (NYTIMES) - The Justice Department on Thursday (Nov 4) sued Texas over the state's new voting law, arguing that the Republican-led measure would disenfranchise Texans who do not speak English, people with disabilities, older voters and those who live outside the United States.

The department argues that the law violates the Voting Rights Act by limiting the help that poll workers can provide to voters.

It also contends that the law runs afoul of the Civil Rights Act by requiring mail-in ballots to be thrown out if they fail to include a voter's current driver's licence number, an election identification number or part of a Social Security number.

The Texas voting law, which was signed by Governor Greg Abbott in September, includes measures barring election officials from sending voters unsolicited absentee ballot applications and from promoting the use of mail voting, as well as further limiting the use of drop boxes. The law also greatly expands the authority of partisan poll watchers.

The Justice Department's lawsuit comes as President Joe Biden's administration and congressional Democrats face sustained pressure to counteract one of the greatest contractions to voting access in generations, with Republicans in 19 states passing at least 33 laws that place new barriers in the voting process.

In June, Attorney General Merrick Garland announced that the Justice Department would prioritise the issue and double its enforcement staff.

Mr Abbott defended the law, writing on Twitter: "Bring it. The Texas election integrity law is legal."

Also on Thursday, the Justice Department filed a statement of interest in a federal lawsuit against the Texas voting law that was brought by Latino organisations.

In that lawsuit, the groups argued that new voting districts drawn by the state's Legislature violated the Voting Rights Act. (A statement of interest indicates that the Justice Department supports the legal arguments of a plaintiff before a court, even though it is not a party.)

The department's lawsuit against Texas differs in scope from one that it filed in June against Georgia accusing the state of passing a voting law that intentionally discriminated against Black voters. Taken together, the two lawsuits and the statement of interest indicate that the department is intent on using the legal tools at its disposal to oppose Republican voting restrictions.