(CNN) -- Texas election officials can go ahead and enforce a controversial voter identification law opposed by the Obama administration and civil rights groups, the U.S. Supreme Court said early Saturday. The decision comes just two days before early voting begins in the state. U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder said it was "a major step backward to let stand a law...(that was) designed to discriminate." Holder: My work on voting rights most important "It is true we are close to an election," Holder said Saturday, "but the outcome here that would be least confusing to voters is the one that allowed the most people to vote lawfully.
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NEW: Holder says ruling is "a major step backward"
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Supreme Court decision clears the way for enforcement of voter ID law in November election
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"We are pleased," Texas attorney general's office says
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Decision is an "affront to our democracy," NAACP leader says
"The @placeholder has repeatedly instructed courts to consider the importance of preserving the status quo on the eve of an election," the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit said.