Tag Archives: voter ID

Lawsuit filed over voter registration problems

Posted on March 15, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

From the Texas Civil Rights Project: In a lawsuit filed this morning in a San Antonio federal court, the Texas Civil Rights Project (TCRP) challenged voter registration procedures at the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS). As the Complaint explains, … 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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If you don’t have ID, you probably can’t get it

Posted on March 4, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Just another reminder that our voter ID law sucks. At the time, civil rights groups and Democrats pointed out that hundreds of thousands of Texans lacked a driver license or other government-sanctioned forms of photo ID, and that cost and … Continue reading →

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Election Day: Get yourself to the polls

Posted on November 3, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

From County Clerk Stan Stanart: Harris County Clerk Stan Stanart strongly encourages citizens who plan to vote on Tuesday, Nov. 3 to be prepared before voting on Election Day. “It is very important for voters to know the answers to … 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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State asks for full Fifth Circuit review of voter ID ruling

Posted on August 31, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

As you’d expect them to do. Continuing to protect a voter identification law that courts say discriminates against Hispanics and African Americans, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has asked a full federal appeals court to hear his arguments about why … Continue reading →

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DOJ asks to get voter ID remedy ASAP

Posted on August 24, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

I concur. The Obama administration and several civil rights groups are urging a federal appeals court to fast track the process of temporarily fixing Texas’ voter ID law in time for the upcoming Nov. 3 elections. In court filings Thursday, … 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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Voter ID may have had broader effects than we thought

Posted on August 11, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Interesting. Texas’ strict voter identification requirements kept many would-be voters in a Hispanic-majority congressional district from going to the polls last November — including many who had proper IDs — a new survey shows. And the state’s voter ID law … Continue reading →

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Fifth Circuit affirms that Texas voter ID law violates Voting Rights Act

Posted on August 6, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Good. Texas’ four-year-old voter ID law violates the Voting Rights Act but is not a “poll tax” barred under the U.S. Constitution, a federal appeals court has ruled. The U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals on Wednesday ruled that the … Continue reading →

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Clinton goes big on voting rights

Posted on June 5, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

I like the sound of this. Accusing Republicans of a systematic effort to undercut voter access to the ballot box, Hillary Clinton called for expansive reforms to U.S. election laws in a speech Thursday. The front-runner for the 2016 Democratic … Continue reading →

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Fraser and Ratliff to step down

Posted on June 3, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

There’s good news: State Sen. Troy Fraser, R-Horseshoe Bay, announced Tuesday that he is not running for re-election, ending a tenure at the Capitol that has spanned four decades. “There comes a time when leaders must take a look at … Continue reading →

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Senate belatedly addresses one voter ID concern

Posted on May 12, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Better really late and at least mildly coerced than never, I guess. The Texas Senate, with scant attention during an early morning vote, gave its unanimous answer to a lingering question the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals posed about … Continue reading →

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Voter ID appeal report

Posted on April 30, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

The Trib reports from New Orleans. A federal appellate judge on Tuesday questioned why the Texas Legislature had not addressed concerns that its four-year-old voter ID law discriminated against minority voters. U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Catharina Haynes … Continue reading →

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Not everyone likes the idea of online voter registration

Posted on April 30, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

And most of them are from Harris County. A House panel got a taste late Monday of the deep skepticism toward bringing online voter registration to Texas, skepticism coming from at least one population-rich part of the state. It was … Continue reading →

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Fifth Circuit to hear Texas voter ID appeal

Posted on April 28, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

There’s more than one big appellate case being heard today. The Texas voter identification law will make a stop at a federal appeals court in New Orleans on Tuesday on a likely path to the U.S. Supreme Court. Texas Solicitor … Continue reading →

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Ellis files bill to protect voting rights

Posted on March 9, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

From the inbox: Senator Rodney Ellis (D-Houston) releases the following statement regarding tomorrow’s 50th anniversary of “Bloody Sunday,” part of the civil rights march from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama: “‘Bloody Sunday’ played a pivotal role in the long and painful … Continue reading →

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Voter fingerprint ID

Posted on February 16, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

This has superficial appeal, but I don’t believe it holds up under close scrutiny. Fingerprints can now be used to unlock smart phones, car engines, even guns. Why not ballots, too? A New Mexico legislator has just proposed that his … Continue reading →

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RIP, two-thirds rule

Posted on January 22, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Not a surprise. With a new lieutenant governor installed for the first time in over a decade Wednesday — and over the cries of Democrats — the Texas Senate voted to break from an almost 70-year tradition intended to encourage … Continue reading →

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Whining about the fracking ban

Posted on December 4, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

These guys just can’t believe they lost. Did college students tilt the outcome of Denton’s vote to ban hydraulic fracturing? That question has stirred debate since the city – home to the University of North Texas and Texas Woman’s University … Continue reading →

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Voter ID plaintiffs want Fith Circuit to get on with it

Posted on December 1, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Some more unfinished business for the courts. Some plaintiffs challenging Texas’ voter ID law want a federal appeals court to speed up its consideration of the case, looking to sort it out before the next wave of elections in the … Continue reading →

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The privilege of voting

Posted on November 16, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

It’s not a right if you aren’t allowed to do it. A day before Texans go to the polls, an unusual group gathered for lunch at a Mexican restaurant not far from downtown: an unemployed African-American grandmother; a University of … Continue reading →

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Paper ballots make a comeback

Posted on November 15, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

From the Everything Old Is New Again department: States have abandoned electronic voting machines in droves, ensuring that most voters will be casting their ballots by hand on Election Day. With many electronic voting machines more than a decade old, … Continue reading →

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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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What they didn’t tell us about voter ID

Posted on October 27, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Republicans knew fully well that their voter ID bill would disenfranchise a lot of people. They just didn’t care. Republican state officials working to pass a voter photo ID law in 2011 knew that more than 500,000 of the state’s … 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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Another voter ID lawsuit filed

Posted on October 7, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Well, this is interesting. While a federal judge in Corpus Christi mulls whether the state’s requirement to show photo ID to cast a ballot violates the federal Voting Rights Act, a judge on the highest criminal appeals court in Texas … 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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