Tag Archives: Voting Rights Act

Pasadena voting rights trial update

Posted on November 22, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Day One: The disparity in infrastructure is at the heart of a voting rights case that opened in federal court Thursday in which a group of Latino residents is challenging the city’s newly revised system of government, saying it discriminates … Continue reading →

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So now what for voter ID?

Posted on November 20, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

It’s hard to say how much prospects have changed now that Donald Trump gets to appoint the ninth Supreme Court justice, but it’s fair to say that thing haven’t improved for the plaintiffs. Five years ago, Texas passed one of … Continue reading →

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Pasadena voting rights trial begins

Posted on November 14, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

The Chron’s Mike Snyder provides an update. [This] week in a Houston federal courtroom, [the Voting Rights Act] will again be invoked in a challenge to an allegedly discriminatory council system, this time in a suburban city that’s undergone a … Continue reading →

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Judge orders state to reword its voter ID outreach materials

Posted on September 21, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Let’s try this again, shall we? In the continuing fight over Texas’ voter ID law, a federal judge on Monday ordered state officials to change, where possible, the language used to inform voters and poll workers about acceptable voting procedures … Continue reading →

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Federal lawsuit filed in Alabama over statewide judicial elections

Posted on September 12, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

There are now at least two lawsuits like this in the federal courts. Tuscaloosa reverend Curtis Travis has been voting his whole life in Alabama. While nearly one-fourth of the voting population, like him, is black, the three highest courts … Continue reading →

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State accused of misleading on voter ID education outreach

Posted on September 8, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

I know, I’m as shocked as you are. The federal government is accusing Texas of circulating “inaccurate or misleading information” to poll workers and would-be voters about relaxed identification requirements for the November elections. “Limited funds are being spent on … Continue reading →

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Pasadena voting rights case moves forward

Posted on August 27, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Good news. A federal judge has denied Pasadena’s request to throw out a lawsuit challenging its controversial city council redistricting plan, which a group of Hispanic and Latino residents alleges dilutes the voting rights of the suburb’s growing minority population. … Continue reading →

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Schedule set for voter ID discrimination arguments

Posted on August 26, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

The next phase of the voter ID litigation will begin shortly after Election Day. A federal judge has scheduled oral arguments for Jan. 24 to determine if the Texas Legislature approved a voter ID law in 2011 with the intent … Continue reading →

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Another Voting Rights Act violation alleged

Posted on August 25, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

From Friday: Today, a coalition of 10 groups sent a letter to Carlos Casco, Secretary of State of Texas, requesting that his office take immediate steps to comply with the federal Voting Rights Act of 1985 (VRA) and the Texas … Continue reading →

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More on the latest voting rights lawsuit ruling

Posted on August 20, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Coverage from the Chron: In contrast to the discourse over the voter ID law, it’s not clear there are many political stakes over the law [Judge Robert] Pitman tossed out Friday. There are enough Hispanic and Latino voters in every … Continue reading →

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Texas loses another voting rights lawsuit

Posted on August 16, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Good. A federal judge Friday blocked Texas from enforcing a state law that limits the availability of interpreters in polling places, ruling that it violates protections guaranteed by the U.S. Voting Rights Act. The ruling by U.S. District Judge Robert … Continue reading →

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Voter ID law changes agreed to

Posted on August 4, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

We have a deal. Texas struck a deal Wednesday that will soften its voter ID law for the November general election — a development that lawyers suing the state say will make it easier for minorities to cast their ballots. … Continue reading →

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Friday was a very good day for voting rights

Posted on August 1, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

In North Carolina: The United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit’s opinion in North Carolina State Conference of the NAACP v. McCrory is nothing short of a beat down. The court does not simply tear apart major provisions … Continue reading →

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Can we PLEASE get some action on redistricting?

Posted on July 31, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

From the Lone Star Project: Earlier today, plaintiffs in the pending Texas congressional and state house redistricting case filed a motion with the presiding three-judge federal panel in San Antonio requesting a conference to discuss further action on the case. … Continue reading →

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Media covers latest voting rights lawsuit

Posted on July 29, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Glad they finally noticed. A group of Hispanic voters has filed a lawsuit challenging how Texas selects judges to its top two courts, arguing that statewide elections for the state Supreme Court and the Court of Criminal Appeals dilutes the … Continue reading →

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New affidavit procedure implemented for HD120 special election runoff

Posted on July 26, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Seems likely this is what we’re going to get for November. Now before the Court comes the Consent Motion for Entry of Temporary Remedial Order, filed on July 23, 2016. The Court has considered the motion and determined that it … Continue reading →

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Voting rights lawsuit filed over Texas statewide judicial elections

Posted on July 25, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

This happened on the same day as the Fifth Circuit ruling on voter ID. [Wednesday], the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law (Lawyers’ Committee), Garza Golando Moran, PLLC, and Dechert LLP filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court … Continue reading →

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What next for voter ID?

Posted on July 22, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Rick Hasen, writing in Slate: The trial court was ready to throw out the entire law, but the 5th Circuit said such a remedy went too far. The court held that when a trial court finds a law has a … Continue reading →

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Fifth Circuit affirms voter ID ruling

Posted on July 21, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Made it by the deadline. Texas’ voter identification law violates the U.S. law prohibiting racial discrimination in elections, a federal appeals court ruled Wednesday. The U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed previous rulings that the 2011 voter ID law … Continue reading →

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We should hear something soon on voter ID

Posted on July 13, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

So says Rick Hasen: The federal challenge to Texas’s strict voter identification law is pending before the entire Fifth Circuit sitting en banc.  The Supreme Court set a soft July 20 deadline for a decision—after that the Court has invited … Continue reading →

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Voter ID’s day before the full Fifth Circuit

Posted on May 25, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Here we go again. A top lawyer for Texas fiercely defended the state’s strictest-in-the-nation voter identification law on Tuesday, in a high-profile case that could ultimately determine at what point states that assert that they are protecting the integrity of … Continue reading →

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A new way to attack gerrymandering

Posted on May 5, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

From Think Progress: America’s anti-gerrymandering law is an incoherent mess. Thirty years ago, in Davis v. Bandemer, the Supreme Court held that a partisan gerrymander may be struck down as unconstitutional upon proof of “both intentional discrimination against an identifiable … Continue reading →

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Republican attorneys general file briefs in support of Texas’ voter ID law

Posted on May 4, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Birds of a feather. Fifteen Republican-controlled states are wading into the contentious court fight over Texas’ voter ID law, arguing in a legal brief that similar laws around the country have already been upheld by the courts. […] Ahead of … Continue reading →

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Meyers’ voter ID lawsuit gets appellate hearing

Posted on May 3, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

I hope he gets to keep it going. [Court of Criminal Appeals Justice Lawrence] Meyers filed his state lawsuit in October 2014, while another legal challenge to the state’s voter ID law was pending in federal court in Corpus Christi. … Continue reading →

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SCOTUS upholds “one person, one vote”

Posted on April 5, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Good news. In a unanimous decision released Monday, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled to uphold Texas’ current system for drawing legislative districts so that they are roughly equal in population. The Supreme Court’s ruling is a victory for legislators — … Continue reading →

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Full Fifth Circuit will hear voter ID appeal

Posted on March 11, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Here we go again. The full U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals agreed to take up the Texas voter ID case Wednesday, adding another chapter to the law’s convoluted journey through the federal court system. The decision to hear the … Continue reading →

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Pasadena plaintiffs get details on Mayor’s campaign spending

Posted on February 13, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Good. A federal judge said Wednesday that a political action committee aligned with Pasadena Mayor Johnny Isbell must turn over hundreds of pages of internal documents in an ongoing lawsuit over the voting rights of Hispanic and Latino residents. Attorneys … Continue reading →

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Pasadena activists want details on their Mayor’s campaign spending

Posted on January 8, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Good. A group of Hispanic voters that accuses the city of Pasadena of diluting its voting rights is asking that a political action committee with ties to the mayor turn over records of communications with voters. The PAC — Committee … Continue reading →

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The arguments in the “one person, one vote” case

Posted on December 10, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Here’s the Chron story: “We start with the proposition that one person can’t be given two votes, while their neighbor be given one vote,” said Arlington, Va., attorney William Consovoy, arguing Evenwel’s case before the high court. Texas officials argued … Continue reading →

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Oral arguments in “one man, one vote” case today

Posted on December 8, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

High stakes, indeed. The U.S. Supreme Court will hear oral arguments Tuesday in a case that could have far-reaching implications for the way legislative districts in Texas — and across the country — are drawn. A coalition of Texas legislators, … Continue reading →

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We still can’t get new maps

Posted on November 7, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Seriously? To avoid confusion and uncertainty, the state’s 2016 elections for Congress and the Texas House will proceed under the current political maps, a three-judge federal panel in San Antonio said late Friday. The court previously approved maps for use … Continue reading →

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$8 million and counting for voter ID litigation

Posted on September 20, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Ka-ching. Republicans used their majority in 2011 to muscle through the Legislature a controversial voter ID law and new redistricting maps — and Texas taxpayers haven’t stopped picking up the bill for the state to defend those measures in courts … Continue reading →

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The stakes in the voter ID appeal

Posted on September 9, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Rick Hasen lays it out. Don’t worry, Chief Justice John Roberts assured the American public in that 2013 case, Shelby County v. Holder. Although states with a history of racial discrimination would no longer be subject to federal “preclearance” of … Continue reading →

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Meyers voter ID lawsuit to proceed

Posted on August 18, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

An update on that other voter ID lawsuit. Texas Court of Criminal Appeals Judge Larry Meyers claims that the state’s voter ID law violates the Texas Constitution, and the court ruled that the case will proceed after rejecting defendants’ arguments … Continue reading →

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