Tag Archives: MALDEF

Fifth Circuit pauses vote harvesting injunction

Posted on October 17, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

Here they come to do what they do. A federal appeals court has temporarily reinstated portions of Texas’ 2021 voting law regulating ballot handling, ruling that a judge’s previous decision to strike certain rules came too close to the 2024 … Continue reading →

Posted in Legal matters | Tagged absentee ballots, ACLU, Americans with Disabilities Act, Brennan Center, Chris Hollins, curbside voting, Disability Rights Texas, Election 2020, Election 2024, elections administrator, FIEL Houston, Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, Greg Abbott, Harris County, HOPE, Isabel Longoria, Jolt Initiative, Ken Paxton, La Unión Del Pueblo Entero, lawsuit, League of Women Voters, MALDEF, Medina County, Mexican American Bar Association of Texas, OCA Houston, REV UP Texas, Secretary of State, Southwest Voter Registration Education Project, Texas, Texas Civil Rights Project, Texas Impact, Texas Organizing Project, The Lege, voter suppression, Voting Rights Act, Workers Defense Action Fund | Comments Off

DACA at the Fifth Circuit

Posted on October 13, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

A big week for that terrible court. On Thursday the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals heard oral arguments in a case to determine the future of “Dreamers” who came to the country as children, including an estimated 27,000 Houstonians. The hearing is the latest … Continue reading →

Posted in La Migra, Legal matters | Tagged Attorney General, Donald Trump, DREAM Act, Election 2024, immigration, Joe Biden, Justice Department, Kamala Harris, Ken Paxton, lawsuit, MALDEF, New Jersey, SCOTUS, Senate, Texas | 1 Comment

More of the omnibus voter suppression bill blocked

Posted on October 13, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

Better (very) late than never. Certain provisions of Texas’ sweeping 2021 voting law that restrict voter assistance violate the federal Voting Rights Act and cannot be enforced, a federal judge in Texas ruled Friday. Among the rules struck down by … Continue reading →

Posted in Legal matters | Tagged absentee ballots, ACLU, Americans with Disabilities Act, Brennan Center, Chris Hollins, curbside voting, Disability Rights Texas, Election 2024, elections administrator, FIEL Houston, Greg Abbott, Harris County, HOPE, Isabel Longoria, Jolt Initiative, Ken Paxton, La Unión Del Pueblo Entero, lawsuit, League of Women Voters, MALDEF, Medina County, Mexican American Bar Association of Texas, OCA Houston, REV UP Texas, Secretary of State, Southwest Voter Registration Education Project, Texas, Texas Civil Rights Project, Texas Impact, Texas Organizing Project, The Lege, voter suppression, Voting Rights Act, Workers Defense Action Fund | 1 Comment

Vote harvesting provision of omnibus voter suppression law SB1 blocked in federal court

Posted on September 30, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

Very timely, even if it took forever to get here. A federal judge ruled on Saturday that part of a Texas law that enacted new voting restrictions violated the U.S. Constitution by being too vague and restricting free speech. The ruling, made by … Continue reading →

Posted in Legal matters | Tagged absentee ballots, ACLU, Americans with Disabilities Act, Brennan Center, Chris Hollins, curbside voting, Disability Rights Texas, Election 2020, elections administrator, FIEL Houston, Greg Abbott, Harris County, HOPE, Isabel Longoria, Jolt Initiative, Ken Paxton, La Unión Del Pueblo Entero, lawsuit, League of Women Voters, MALDEF, Medina County, Mexican American Bar Association of Texas, OCA Houston, REV UP Texas, Secretary of State, Southwest Voter Registration Education Project, Texas, Texas Civil Rights Project, Texas Impact, Texas Organizing Project, The Lege, voter suppression, Voting Rights Act, Workers Defense Action Fund | 1 Comment

The current state of voter purging

Posted on August 30, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

We’ll start here, and there’s a lot to unpack. Gov. Greg Abbott on Monday announced that the state has removed over 1 million names from the Texas voter rolls, mainly people who moved out of state or died but including … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2024 | Tagged ACLU of Texas, Bexar County, Campaign Legal Center, David Whitley, Donald Trump, DPS, drivers licenses, Election 2024, Gene Wu, Greg Abbott, Harris County, immigration, Jane Nelson, Ken Paxton, lawsuit, LULAC, MALDEF, National Voter Registration Act, SCOTUS, Secretary of State, Texas, Texas Civil Rights Project, voter registration, voter suppression | 6 Comments

The Fifth Circuit has its merits hearing on SB4

Posted on April 4, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

This is the big one. A federal appeals court heard arguments Wednesday from Texas and the federal government about whether it should continue blocking a new Texas law that would let state police arrest migrants suspected of entering the U.S. … Continue reading →

Posted in La Migra, Legal matters | Tagged ACLU of Texas, American Gateways, Bastrop County, Congress, Donald Trump, DPS, El Paso, Election 2024, Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, Greg Abbott, Harris County, Hidalgo County, immigration, Joe Biden, Justice Department, Las Americas Immigrant Advocacy Center, lawsuit, MALDEF, McLennan County, Mexico, SCOTUS, Senate, Steve McCraw, Texas, Texas Civil Rights Project, The Lege | Comments Off

Fifth Circuit leaves SB4 block in place

Posted on March 28, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

Good. A federal appeals panel late Tuesday night declined to put Texas’s migrant deportation law back in effect, saying the state law seizes powers that are “likely reserved to the United States.” The 2-1 opinion from the 5th Circuit Court … Continue reading →

Mexico asks Fifth Circuit to keep blocking SB4

Posted on March 25, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

They definitely have an interest in this. The Mexican government is urging a federal court to block Texas’ migrant deportation law, arguing it will trample the country’s right to regulate its own borders, terrorize the 2.4 million Mexican nationals living … Continue reading →

Posted in La Migra, Legal matters | Tagged ACLU of Texas, American Gateways, Bastrop County, Congress, Donald Trump, DPS, El Paso, Election 2024, Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, Greg Abbott, Harris County, Hidalgo County, immigration, Joe Biden, Justice Department, Las Americas Immigrant Advocacy Center, lawsuit, MALDEF, McLennan County, Mexico, SCOTUS, Senate, Sheriff’s Association of Texas, Steve McCraw, Texas, Texas Civil Rights Project, Texas Municipal Police Association, Texas Police Chiefs Association, The Lege | Comments Off

Fifth Circuit has its SB4 hearing

Posted on March 21, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

More whiplashing. The chief judge on an appeals panel weighing whether to block Texas’ new migrant deportation law appeared skeptical that it does not run afoul of longstanding precedent leaving immigration enforcement solely to the federal government. Questioning the state’s … Continue reading →

And just like that, SCOTUS flipflops on SB4

Posted on March 20, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

UPDATE: It’s blocked again! A federal appeals court late Tuesday night stopped a state law allowing Texas police to arrest people suspected of illegally crossing the Texas-Mexico border — hours after the U.S. Supreme Court had allowed it to go … Continue reading →

SCOTUS pauses SB4 again

Posted on March 19, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

This time indefinitely. The Supreme Court on Monday extended a temporary block on a new Texas immigration law that is being challenged by the Biden administration. In an order issued by conservative Justice Samuel Alito, the court again imposed a … Continue reading →

SB4 remains on hold

Posted on March 13, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

Fine by me. No rush. The Supreme Court on Tuesday further delayed a new Texas law empowering state authorities to arrest and deport migrants that would transform immigration enforcement long left to the federal government. Justice Samuel Alito extended an … Continue reading →

The lawsuit over the omnibus voter suppression law has begun

Posted on September 12, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Settle in, this will take awhile. Two years after voting rights groups challenged Texas Republicans’ sweeping overhaul of its voting and election laws, the case comes to trial Monday in a federal court in San Antonio. The lengthy roster of … Continue reading →

Posted in Legal matters | Tagged absentee ballots, ACLU, ACLU of Texas, Americans with Disabilities Act, Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund, Attorney General, Brennan Center, Chris Hollins, curbside voting, Dana DeBeauvoir, Disability Rights Texas, drop off boxes, Election 2020, elections administrator, FIEL Houston, Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, Georgia, Greg Abbott, Harris County, HOPE, Isabel Longoria, Jolt Initiative, Justice Department, Ken Paxton, La Unión Del Pueblo Entero, lawsuit, League of Women Voters, MALDEF, Medina County, Mexican American Bar Association of Texas, OCA Houston, Organization of Chinese Americans-Greater Houston, REV UP Texas, Secretary of State, Southwest Voter Registration Education Project, Texas, Texas Civil Rights Project, Texas Impact, Texas Organizing Project, The Lege, Travis County, voter suppression, Voting Rights Act, Workers Defense Action Fund | Comments Off

Part of the omnibus voter suppression law struck down

Posted on August 20, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Some good news. A federal judge in San Antonio ruled this week that it is illegal for Texas elections officials to reject mail-in ballots and the applications for them over ID mistakes on elections paperwork. The requirement was part of … Continue reading →

Posted in Legal matters | Tagged absentee ballots, ACLU of Texas, Americans with Disabilities Act, Brennan Center, Chris Hollins, curbside voting, Dana DeBeauvoir, Disability Rights Texas, Election 2020, elections administrator, FIEL Houston, Georgia, Greg Abbott, Harris County, HOPE, Isabel Longoria, Jolt Initiative, Ken Paxton, La Unión Del Pueblo Entero, lawsuit, MALDEF, Medina County, Mexican American Bar Association of Texas, OCA Houston, REV UP Texas, Secretary of State, Southwest Voter Registration Education Project, Texas, Texas Civil Rights Project, Texas Impact, Texas Organizing Project, The Lege, Travis County, voter suppression, Voting Rights Act | 2 Comments

Fifth Circuit does its thing with appeal of voter purge case

Posted on October 2, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Get out the rubber stamp. A federal appeals court has ruled that Texas does not need to release details about a list of 11,737 registered voters whom the state has identified as potential noncitizens. The U.S. Court of Appeals for … Continue reading →

Posted in Legal matters | Tagged ACLU of Texas, Campaign Legal Center, David Whitley, DEMOS, DPS, Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, Greg Abbott, John Scott, lawsuit, Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, MALDEF, NVRA, Secretary of State, Texas, Texas Civil Rights Project, The Lege, voter registration | 2 Comments

Most of the lawsuit against the voter suppression law survives a motion to dismiss

Posted on August 6, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Some good news. In a limited order this week, a federal judge threw out some civil rights and discrimination claims brought as part of a complex and ongoing legal dispute over strict new voting rules in Texas. The lawsuit filed last year alleges that the … Continue reading →

Posted in Legal matters | Tagged absentee ballots, ACLU, Americans with Disabilities Act, curbside voting, Dana DeBeauvoir, Disability Rights Texas, Election 2020, elections administrator, FIEL Houston, Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, Greg Abbott, Harris County, HOPE, Isabel Longoria, Jolt Initiative, Justice Department, Ken Paxton, La Unión Del Pueblo Entero, lawsuit, League of Women Voters, MALDEF, Medina County, Mexican American Bar Association of Texas, OCA Houston, REV UP Texas, Secretary of State, Southwest Voter Registration Education Project, Texas, Texas Civil Rights Project, Texas Impact, Texas Organizing Project, The Lege, Travis County, voter suppression, Voting Rights Act, Workers Defense Action Fund | Comments Off

State ordered to turn over voter purge data

Posted on August 5, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Very good. A federal judge ruled this week that the state is violating U.S. law by refusing to release its list of more than 11,000 registered voters that it identified as potential noncitizens, and ordered the release of the data … Continue reading →

Posted in Legal matters | Tagged ACLU of Texas, Campaign Legal Center, David Whitley, DEMOS, DPS, Greg Abbott, John Scott, lawsuit, Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, MALDEF, NVRA, Secretary of State, Texas, Texas Civil Rights Project, The Lege, voter registration | 1 Comment

Trump judge tosses longstanding law allowing in-state tuition for undocumented students

Posted on April 14, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Crappy ruling from an activist judge. A federal judge has ruled that the University of North Texas can’t charge out-of-state American students higher tuition than undocumented Texans who qualify for lower in-state tuition under a 2001 Texas law. UNT lawyers … Continue reading →

Posted in Legal matters | Tagged immigration, MALDEF, Rick Perry, Texas, The Lege, tuition, University of North Texas | Comments Off

The dark side of redistricting litigation

Posted on April 5, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

The state of Texas is taking a big swing in defense of its gerrymanders, and if they connect it’s going to be devastating. Beyond the immediate legal fight over whether Texas lawmakers again discriminated against voters of color when drawing … Continue reading →

Posted in Legal matters | Tagged Attorney General, Justice Department, Ken Paxton, MALDEF, redistricting, SCOTUS, Southern Coalition for Social Justice, Texas, Voting Rights Act | 1 Comment

Voting Rights Groups Sue Texas for Failure to Disclose Records Related to Voter Purges

Posted on February 3, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

From the inbox: The Campaign Legal Center (CLC), the American Civil Liberties Union Foundation of Texas, the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund (MALDEF), Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law and DĒMOS filed a lawsuit asking the U.S. … Continue reading →

What does “race blind” redistricting even mean?

Posted on January 2, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Good question. In states like Texas and North Carolina, Republican lawmakers in charge of redrawing the political maps for the next decade say that the new plans are “race blind.” Their opponents in court say that the claim is implausible and one … Continue reading →

Posted in National news | Tagged Congress, Joan Huffman, lawsuit, MALDEF, North Carolina, redistricting, SCOTUS, Senate, Texas, Voting Rights Act | 2 Comments

A brief update on the Gutierrez/Eckhardt redistricting lawsuit

Posted on October 31, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

First news we’ve had in awhile. Plaintiff: Democratic state Sens. Roland Gutierrez and Sarah Eckhardt What the lawsuit argues: Ahead of lawmakers’ third special session, two Democratic state senators sued to block the Legislature from redistricting in a special session … Continue reading →

Posted in Legal matters | Tagged American GI Forum, Census, Congress, Constitution, demography, Election 2022, Eric Holder, FIEL Houston, Greg Abbott, HOPE, Jose Esparza, La Unión Del Pueblo Entero, lawsuit, LULAC, MALDEF, Mexican American Bar Association of Texas, Mi Familia Vota, National Democratic Redistricting Committee, National Redistricting Action Fund, redistricting, Roland Gutierrez, Sarah Eckhardt, SBOE, Secretary of State, Senate, Southwest Voter Registration Education Project, special session, Tejano Democrats, Texas, Texas Association of Latino Administrators and Superintendents, The Lege, Voting Rights Act, Voto Latino, William C. Velasquez Institute | 3 Comments

First lawsuit filed against the redistricting maps

Posted on October 19, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Why wait? We already know they suck. Before they’ve even been signed into law, Texas’ new maps for Congress and the statehouse are being challenged in court for allegedly discriminating against Latino voters. Filing the first federal lawsuit Monday in … Continue reading →

Posted in Legal matters | Tagged American GI Forum, Census, Congress, FIEL Houston, Greg Abbott, HOPE, Jose Esparza, La Unión Del Pueblo Entero, lawsuit, LULAC, MALDEF, Mexican American Bar Association of Texas, Mi Familia Vota, redistricting, SBOE, Secretary of State, Senate, Southwest Voter Registration Education Project, Texas, Texas Association of Latino Administrators and Superintendents, The Lege, William C. Velasquez Institute | 2 Comments

First two lawsuits filed against the voter suppression bill

Posted on September 4, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

No time wasted. The top elections official in Harris County and a host of organizations that serve Texans of color and Texans with disabilities have fired the opening salvos in what’s expected to be an extensive legal battle over Texas’ … Continue reading →

Posted in Legal matters | Tagged absentee ballots, ACLU, Americans with Disabilities Act, Brennan Center, Chris Hollins, curbside voting, Dana DeBeauvoir, Disability Rights Texas, Election 2020, elections administrator, FIEL Houston, Greg Abbott, Harris County, HOPE, Isabel Longoria, Jolt Initiative, Ken Paxton, La Unión Del Pueblo Entero, lawsuit, League of Women Voters, MALDEF, Medina County, Mexican American Bar Association of Texas, OCA Houston, REV UP Texas, Secretary of State, Southwest Voter Registration Education Project, Texas, Texas Civil Rights Project, Texas Impact, Texas Organizing Project, The Lege, Travis County, voter suppression, Voting Rights Act, Workers Defense Action Fund | Comments Off

No bail in

Posted on July 25, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

No surprise, I’m afraid. Texas won’t have to seek federal approval when state lawmakers draw new election maps in two years, a three-judge panel in San Antonio decided Wednesday. The judges, however, cautioned Texas that its next process will “undoubtedly” … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged Election 2020, Justice Department, lawsuit, Legislative Redistricting Board, MALDEF, redistricting, SCOTUS, Southern Coalition for Social Justice, Texas, voter ID, Voting Rights Act | 1 Comment

Some Census shenanigans short-circuited

Posted on July 10, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

The head, it spins. In a scalding order that called the Justice Department’s motion to change lawyers “patently deficient,” a federal judge in Manhattan on Tuesday blocked the move by the Justice Department to withdraw several of its attorneys from … Continue reading →

Posted in Legal matters | Tagged Census, Commerce Department, Donald Trump, immigration, Justice Department, lawsuit, MALDEF, Maryland, New York, redistricting, SCOTUS, Wilbur Ross, William Barr | 1 Comment

Yeah, we spoke too soon about the Census citizenship question

Posted on July 6, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

It’s maximum chaos time. The Justice Department affirmed Friday that it still is pursuing a path for adding a citizenship question to the 2020 Census, according to a filing in federal court in Maryland. The filing followed statements earlier in … Continue reading →

Posted in Legal matters | Tagged Census, Commerce Department, Donald Trump, immigration, Justice Department, lawsuit, MALDEF, Maryland, New York, redistricting, SCOTUS, Wilbur Ross | 32 Comments

Next up for the Census lawsuit

Posted on June 29, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

Before the Trump administration can take a second shot at SCOTUS with the Census citizenship question, the federal court in Maryland will be revisiting their case with some new data. [The SCOTUS] decision came two days after a federal appeals … Continue reading →

Posted in Legal matters | Tagged Census, Commerce Department, immigration, lawsuit, MALDEF, Maryland, SCOTUS, Texas, Wilbur Ross | Comments Off

Paxton still holding on to bogus voter purge data

Posted on June 7, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

It’s all about secrecy. He doesn’t want you to know what he’s up to. More than a month after a legal settlement was reached to scrap the review, Paxton’s office has indicated it is keeping open the criminal investigation file … Continue reading →

Posted in Legal matters | Tagged Attorney General, immigration, Ken Paxton, lawsuit, MALDEF, Secretary of State, Texas, Texas Public Information Act, voter registration | 4 Comments

How to rig the Census

Posted on May 31, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

This is how you would do it. The Trump administration’s controversial effort to add a citizenship question to the 2020 census was drawn up by the Republican Party’s gerrymandering mastermind, who wrote that it “would clearly be a disadvantage to … Continue reading →

Posted in Legal matters, National news | Tagged Census, Commerce Department, Donald Trump, immigration, lawsuit, MALDEF, redistricting, SCOTUS, Texas, Tom Hofeller, Voting Rights Act, Wilbur Ross | 16 Comments

The SOS voter purge may be over, but Ken Paxton is unaccounted for

Posted on May 6, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

Keep an eye on this. After the judge approved the settlement, the original list of voters was scrapped. Under the agreement, Texas officials now will only flag names of people who have said they’re not citizens after they have registered … Continue reading →

Posted in Legal matters | Tagged David Whitley, DPS, drivers licenses, immigration, Ken Paxton, lawsuit, LULAC, MALDEF, Secretary of State, Texas, Texas Civil Rights Project, voter registration | Comments Off

The Section 3 bail-in hearing

Posted on May 4, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

At long last, the final question to answer about Texas and the Voting Rights Act, namely has the state done enough bad stuff to be required to be put under preclearance again? Back in the federal courthouse where most of … Continue reading →

Posted in Legal matters | Tagged Justice Department, lawsuit, MALDEF, redistricting, SCOTUS, Southern Coalition for Social Justice, Texas, voter ID, Voting Rights Act | Comments Off

A closer look at how Texas strongly discourages voting

Posted on April 28, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

Well, it strongly discourages some people from voting. Julieta Garibay, a native of Mexico City, was brought to Texas by her mother when she was 12. For 26 years, she was told to assimilate and stay quiet so people wouldn’t … Continue reading →

Posted in Show Business for Ugly People | Tagged David Whitley, DPS, drivers licenses, Greg Abbott, immigration, Julieta Garibay, Ken Paxton, lawsuit, MALDEF, Secretary of State, Texas, United We Dream, voter registration | Comments Off

Third Census lawsuit ruling against Trump administration

Posted on April 9, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

Once, twice, three times an injunction. A federal judge in Maryland ruled Friday against the government’s addition of a citizenship question to the 2020 Census, The Washington Post reported Friday. Judge George J. Hazel found that in deciding last year to … Continue reading →

Posted in Legal matters, National news | Tagged Census, Commerce Department, Donald Trump, immigration, lawsuit, MALDEF, Maryland, SCOTUS, Texas, Wilbur Ross | Comments Off

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