Tag Archives: Voting Rights Act

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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Art Murillo

Posted on November 14, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Congratulations to Art Murillo, the first person of color elected to the Lone Star College Board of Trustees. Need I mention that it took a lawsuit for this to happen? Murillo, who is Latino, at one time might have seemed … Continue reading →

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Lawsuit filed over Pasadena Council districts

Posted on November 14, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Good. For 41 years, Alberto Patiño has lived in Pasadena and seen a lot of changes there. Now Hispanics like him make up more than 60 percent of residents and about 40 percent of eligible voters. Patiño wants that reflected … 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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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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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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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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Second phase of redistricting trial over

Posted on September 2, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Much like the first phase, with some insults for one of the state’s key players thrown in for effect. Lawyers with the U.S. Justice Department and minority groups said in closing arguments in federal court Tuesday that state lawmakers illegally … 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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Judge rules that the voter ID lawsuit will go to trial

Posted on July 12, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

In addition to the start of the redistricting trial, we have some news on the voter ID lawsuit front, and it’s generally good news for the good guys. Last week’s ruling, in which U.S. District Court Judge Nelva Gonzales Ramos … Continue reading →

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Next phases of redistricting lawsuit scheduled

Posted on July 11, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Part One takes place next week. The trial over 2011 House district boundaries begins July 14 in U.S. District Court, where a hearing Tuesday shed light on how the case could unfold. The proceeding are expected to last at least … 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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Lawsuit filed over Senate map

Posted on April 24, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

From Texas Redistricting: [Monday] morning, two Texas voters filed a suit in federal court challenging the state senate map drawn by the Texas Legislature on the grounds that it violated the equal protection guarantees of the Fourteenth Amendment by using … Continue reading →

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Pasadena lurches towards redistricting

Posted on April 6, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

It’s getting ugly. A Pasadena councilwoman was forcibly ejected by armed officers and the mayor was accused of packing a gun during recent meetings on a controversial redistricting plan. Councilwoman Pat Van Houte was removed from a meeting Tuesday on … 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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VRA 2.0

Posted on January 17, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Texas Redistricting: [Thursday] morning, Congressman Jim Sensenbrenner (R-WI), Senator Patrick Leahy (D-VT), and Congressman John Conyers (D-MI) introduced proposed amendments to the Voting Rights Act that would rework the section 5 coverage formula invalidated by the Supreme Court in Shelby … 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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What next in Pasadena?

Posted on November 11, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Just waiting on the lawsuit at this point. There have been other elections in Pasadena with closer results, but not many. After all of the votes were counted in Tuesday’s (November 5) Charter Amendment election, Proposition One: “Shall the City … Continue reading →

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Early voting wrapup: Did we run out of early voters?

Posted on November 4, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Early voting is officially over, though a few more mail ballots will trickle in by tomorrow. Here are the final numbers, with the chart from Thursday being updated: 2013 2011 2009 2007 Here again is that look at turnout over … 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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The problem with voter ID is more than just name matching

Posted on October 29, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Cindy George is correct about what isn’t a problem with voter ID. The names on your voter registration card and your ID must match. For the most part. They will be considered the same if they’re “substantially similar.” There have … 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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