Tag Archives: Justice Department

The larger issue on voter ID

Posted on October 29, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

The Trib reminds us that there are bigger questions that remain to be answered in the voter ID litigation. The litigation on the state’s voting district maps for legislative and congressional elections is still underway, and the treatment of minority … Continue reading →

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SCOTUS declines to intervene on voter ID

Posted on October 19, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Unfortunate. The Supreme Court said Saturday that Texas can use its controversial new voter identification law for the November election. A majority of the justices rejected an emergency request from the Justice Department and civil rights groups to prohibit the … Continue reading →

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Voter ID plaintiffs turn to SCOTUS

Posted on October 16, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Last train, y’all. Texas plaintiffs on Wednesday asked the U.S. Supreme Court to block the state’s voter photo ID law in November’s election. “The facts of this case, including record evidence, show that significantly more voter confusion will result from … Continue reading →

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The courts giveth, and the courts taketh away

Posted on October 15, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

As expected, the Fifth Circuit lifts the stay on the district court’s voter ID ruling, paving the way (for now) for it to be enforced in November. Texas should require photo voter identification in this year’s general election, the 5th … Continue reading →

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Voter ID plaintiffs ask for no stay

Posted on October 13, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

They’ve filed their response to the Fifth Circuit. Attorneys challenging Texas’ voter ID law — which was struck down by a federal judge on Thursday — asked a federal appeals court on Sunday not to allow the state to enforce … Continue reading →

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More on the voter ID ruling

Posted on October 12, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

As always with big court cases, the first question is who benefits politically from the decision? With a federal judge having declared Texas’ voter ID unconstitutional, Democrats and political experts on Friday predicted the surprise decision potentially could help Wendy … Continue reading →

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Court strikes down Texas voter ID law

Posted on October 11, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Boom. Less than two weeks before the start of early voting, a federal judge ruled the state’s photo voter ID law unconstitutional late Thursday and ordered state officials to drop the new requirements. “The Court holds that SB 14 creates … Continue reading →

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Texans Together asks for Justice Department investigation of AG and Harris County

Posted on October 4, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

From the inbox: Hello Friends: We recently made a formal, written request to the U.S. Justice Department to immediately investigate Texas and Harris County officials for voter suppression in Harris County (see letter here). We are asking for a federal … Continue reading →

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Voter ID trial concludes

Posted on September 24, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Now we wait for the judge. Texas’ voter ID law is discriminatory because it was designed to thwart emerging minority voting power in the state and should be dropped, attorneys for the law’s opponents said in closing arguments in a … Continue reading →

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Congressional Dems request federal investigation of Abbott’s persecution of Houston Votes

Posted on September 15, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Good. Democratic congressmen from Texas have asked the U.S. Department of Justice to investigate a raid by Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott’s office that targeted a nonprofit voter registration group. The Dallas Morning News reported Aug. 31 on the attorney … Continue reading →

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Voter ID trial testimony ends

Posted on September 13, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

The state of Texas put on its case in the voter ID trial. Lawyers from the Texas attorney general’s office presented witnesses Wednesday in federal court defending the state voter ID law as necessary and attempting to rebuff claims that … Continue reading →

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Defense to begin in voter ID lawsuit

Posted on September 10, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Entering the home stretch. The Texas voter ID trial with national implications is shifting its focus in U.S. District Judge Nelva Gonzales Ramos’ courtroom Tuesday. After a week of testimony largely opposed to the law, the State of Texas’ legal … Continue reading →

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The best coverage of the voter ID trial

Posted on September 8, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

You want to know what’s going on with the voter ID trial, which enters its second and likely final week today, go check out the Brennan Center for Justice, which has daily coverage that would put any newspaper to shame. … Continue reading →

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Voter ID trial starts today

Posted on September 2, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

As one trial ends, the next one begins. U.S. District Judge Nelva Gonzales Ramos in Corpus Christi will begin hearing arguments Tuesday on one of the nation’s most stringent voter ID measures, which Republican Gov. Rick Perry signed into law … Continue reading →

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We need more mobile ID stations

Posted on August 26, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

From the inbox, from the League of Women Voters. LEAGUE OF WOMEN VOTERS OF TEXAS CALLS ON SECRETARY OF STATE TO EXPAND AND IMPROVE EFFORTS TO PROVIDE ELECTION IDENTIFICATION CERTIFICATES AUSTIN, TX – “We are deeply concerned that eligible voters … Continue reading →

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On redistricting and race

Posted on August 13, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Phase Two of the redistricting trial is underway, and if it sounds an awful lot like Phase One to you, you would be right. Texas’ Republican-controlled Legislature didn’t discriminate against minorities by drawing election maps in 2011 that voting-rights activists … Continue reading →

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Redistricting II: Congressional Boogaloo

Posted on August 11, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Phase Two of the redistricting lawsuit trial begins today, in which the 2011 Congressional maps go under the microscope. That’s as good a time as any for the mandatory How Much All This Redistricting Litigation Is Costing Us story. Texans … Continue reading →

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First phase of redistricting trial ends

Posted on August 1, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Not much of interest must have happened, because news reports have been sparse, to say the least. The first phase of the federal trial examining claims that state lawmakers discriminated against African-American and Hispanic voters when redrawing Texas House districts … Continue reading →

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What else is at stake in the redistricting trial

Posted on July 15, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

It’s about more than just the maps. Efforts by the Obama administration to wring protections out of a weakened Voting Rights Act begin Monday in Texas over allegations that Republicans intentionally discriminated against minorities when drawing new election maps. A … Continue reading →

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Students against voter ID

Posted on July 9, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

A new front is opened in the fight against voter ID. Civil rights groups have spent a decade fighting requirements that voters show photo identification, arguing that this discriminates against African-Americans, Hispanics and the poor. This week in a North … Continue reading →

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Almost nobody is following Rick Perry’s lead in defying the Prison Rape Elimination Act

Posted on June 9, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Emily dePrang has the story. Back in March, Gov. Rick Perry sent a letter to U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder declaring his intent to defy a federal law designed to reduce sexual assault in prison. It was a very Perry … Continue reading →

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Two wins against voter ID

Posted on May 1, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Good news from Wisconsin. Trying to crack down on in-person voter fraud isn’t a strong enough justification for Wisconsin’s voter ID law, a federal judge ruled Tuesday, because voter impersonation virtually never occurs now and is unlikely to become a … Continue reading →

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No hiding behind privilege

Posted on April 11, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Here’s your latest voter ID litigation update, from the Brad Blog: Just over a week ago, it was North Carolina legislators ordered by the court to cough up documentation relating to passage of new, draconian restrictions on voting rights in their state. … Continue reading →

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Perry says Texas will not comply with the federal Prison Rape Elimination Act

Posted on April 2, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Amazing the number of laws Rick Perry refuses to obey, isn’t it? More than a decade after the Prison Rape Elimination Act unanimously passed Congress, federal standards for implementation of the law have been finalized. Now, Gov. Rick Perry and … Continue reading →

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Last stand against school closures

Posted on March 13, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Last chance, too. Community activists called Tuesday for HISD to spare two schools from closure in a last-ditch effort that included filing a federal civil-rights complaint alleging racial discrimination. Charles X. White, president of the city’s South Park Super Neighborhood … Continue reading →

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Voter ID trial still on track for September

Posted on February 19, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

It could have been delayed till after the November election. A federal judge in Corpus Christi ruled on Wednesday that a federal lawsuit challenging the legality of the state’s controversial Voter ID law is expected to begin in September as … Continue reading →

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Followup on that report about sexual assault in the Harris County jail

Posted on February 7, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Last month, I blogged about a report by the Justice Department that alleged a high rate of sexual assault in one of the Harris County jail buildings. Sheriff Adrian Garcia, who testified about the report in Congress to a panel … Continue reading →

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Sexual assault in the Harris County jail

Posted on January 13, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

This sounds very bad, but there are some questions about how the numbers were determined. Harris County Sheriff Adrian Garcia, defending his staff against a federal study that found startling levels of sexual abuse at one of his jails, testified … Continue reading →

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Thanksgiving weekend voter ID update

Posted on November 30, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Some statistics to throw some cold water on the claims that there were “no problems” with the voter ID law. Delays at the polls this month due to glitches with voters’ identifications could signal a bigger problem to come next … Continue reading →

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Voter ID trial set for September

Posted on November 18, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Texas Redistricting: At [Friday] morning’s scheduling conference, Judge Nelva Gonzales Ramos set trial in the consolidated Texas voter ID cases for September 2, 2014, adopting the date proposed by Congressman Marc Veasey over a proposed March 2015 trial date preferred by the … Continue reading →

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Another lawsuit filed against the voter ID law

Posted on November 15, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

The Observer reports. Election Day last week brought plenty of complaints at the polls about Texas’ new voter ID law, but it also brought one major complaint in Corpus Christi federal court, where nine voters joined La Unión Del Pueblo Entero … Continue reading →

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State moves to dismiss voter ID lawsuit

Posted on October 30, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

From Texas Redistricting has week: The State of Texas filed a motion this afternoon asking Judge Nelva Gonzales Ramos to dismiss pending voter ID suits on several grounds. First, the motion argued that elected officials like Congressman Marc Veasey, governmental … Continue reading →

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Voter ID litigation moving again

Posted on October 24, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

From Texas Redistricting last week: The Texas voter ID litigation geared back up today, with the court setting a number of new or revised deadlines now that the government shutdown is over. Responses to motions by True the Vote and … Continue reading →

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Redistricting trial set for July

Posted on October 23, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

The San Antonio federal court has set a date in July of 2014 to resolve the litigation relating to the 2011 and 2013 redistrictings. A federal three-judge panel in San Antonio on Friday issued a schedule for the case, mostly granting state … Continue reading →

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