A civil rights group has filed a lawsuit against the state of Alabama, claiming that its law requiring voters to have photo identification will prevent thousands from casting ballots.
The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People and Greater Birmingham Ministries filed the federal lawsuit Wednesday.
The lawsuit cites state estimates that at least 280,000 people will be disenfranchised because of the law.
The complaint says those affected are disproportionately black and Hispanic, and it says that amounts to intentional racial discrimination.
The state attorney general's office had no immediate comment.
A requirement that went into effect last year requires voters to show valid, state-issued photo identification at polling places. The state's Republican-controlled Legislature approved the law in 2011, saying it was meant to prevent fraud.
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