Lyle Denniston for SCOTUSBlog:

Arguing that its five-year-old law requiring voters to have a photo ID before they may cast a ballot will not deny anyone in Texas the right to vote, state officials urged the Supreme Court on Monday afternoon to allow the law to remain in effect while a federal appeals court conducts a new review of it.  If federal voting rights law would treat the requirement as illegal, the federal law would be unconstitutional under the Fifteenth Amendment, the state contended.

The Court is considering a plea by a group of voters and officeholders in Texas (Veasey v. Abbott, 15A999) to block further enforcement of the requirement, and to do so in time to keep it from affecting voting in this year’s general election in November, conceding that it is now too late to stop it for the state’s May 24 run-off election.   Their request was filed with Justice Clarence Thomas; he has the option of acting alone or sharing it with his colleagues.

As I’ve suggested, I would be very surprised if the Court grants this relief, which only one set of plaintiffs (and not the United States) requested.