The U.S. Supreme Court has opted out of messing with Texas, at least for now. In a unanimous, unsigned decision, the judges avoided a variety of thorny legal questions, vaguely asking for revisions to a redistricting map drawn by a panel of judges in San Antonio. At stake is the likely party alignment of four new congressional seats that were awarded to Texas after the 2010 census revealed significant, minority-driven population growth in the state. The Republican-controlled Texas state Legislature’s map all but ensured at least three of those new seats would be safely Republican, ... Read More
Supreme Court Messes With Texas, Voting Rights
January 9, 2012 • By • Leave a Comment
“Don’t mess with Texas” — this time, the U.S. Supreme Court should have listened. The court has injected itself into a 10-gallon disaster that grows messier with every passing day. Today, the court hears arguments. If only it could slowly back out of the room. The problem arises (again) from a Texas redistricting plan. Last cycle, Texas re-redrew a federal court’s lines, causing Democrats to twice flee the state to gut a legislative quorum. This caused then-House Majority Leader Tom DeLay to set federal law enforcement on their tail, which in turn earned Mr. DeLay a formal ... Read More
Righting the Voting Income Gap
November 8, 2011 • By • Leave a Comment
Long-standing efforts to increase the number of low-income voters have been paying off. Several voting rights groups point to data from the federal Election Assistance Commission that show an increase in new voter registrations coming from public-assistance agencies. Since 1993, the National Voter Registration Act, known as the “Motor Voter Bill,” requires that voter registration be offered at DMV offices and public-assistance agencies. At the time of its passage, the law was heralded for empowering poor and working people, while detractors said it could lead to registering dead ... Read More
State to Voters: Can I See Some ID?
January 9, 2008 • By • 1 Comment
Mention “identity theft,” and most people conjure images of computer hackers or mail thieves stealing credit card numbers to buy consumer electronics and luxury goods. But Indiana Secretary of State Todd Rokita says identity theft — in the form of in-person vote fraud — can be used to steal elections, too. Because “voting is a sacred civic transaction that should be protected,” Rokita defends Indiana’s 2005 law requiring voters to present government-issued photo identification. By associating vote fraud with identity theft — which, he notes, ... Read More
