Tag Archives: voter ID

Voter ID back before the Fifth Circuit

Posted on December 6, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

And the worst judge on the Fifth Circuit does her thing. In Texas’ bid to keep its voter identification law intact, it was its legal foes — lawyers representing voting and civil rights groups and individual voters of color — … Continue reading →

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Paxton wants voter ID lawsuit to be over

Posted on October 20, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

I can think of one way he can make that happen. That’s not what he’s asking for, alas. The fight over the state’s embattled voter ID laws should be over, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton argued in a new court … Continue reading →

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No expedited appeal of voter ID

Posted on October 12, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

There’s no speeding this up. A federal appeals court Tuesday declined to have all 14 judges participate in the appeal over the Texas voter ID law — a decision that will keep the issue unresolved heading into the 2018 elections, … Continue reading →

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Fifth Circuit stays voter ID ruling

Posted on September 7, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

Ugh. The state of Texas can use its revised voter ID measure for the upcoming November elections, a divided federal appeals court ruled on Tuesday. The 2-1 decision, first reported by Politico Tuesday night, came from a panel of three … Continue reading →

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Trump’s Justice Department goes all in on voter ID

Posted on September 6, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

Despicable, but what did you expect? Continuing a dramatic reversal on voting rights under President Donald Trump, the U.S. Department of Justice is asking a federal appeals court to allow Texas to enforce a photo voter identification law that a … Continue reading →

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Texas appeals voter ID ruling

Posted on August 27, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

On to the next phase. As promised, Attorney General Ken Paxton appealed what he called an “outrageous” federal court decision tossing out the state’s new voter ID law. In a 25-page filing to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the … Continue reading →

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Voter ID law thrown out

Posted on August 24, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

Fantastic. A federal judge has tossed out a new law softening Texas’ strict voter identification requirements. U.S. District Judge Nelva Gonzales Ramos on Wednesday ruled that Senate Bill 5, signed by Gov. Greg Abbott in June, doesn’t absolve Texas lawmakers … Continue reading →

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Plaintiffs again ask for voter ID law to be tossed

Posted on July 22, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

Again I agree with them. Minority groups have asked a federal judge to scrap Texas’ voter identification law and place the state under the jurist’s supervision for at least a decade, according to court filings this week. Not only are … Continue reading →

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Trump DOJ says all is swell with voter ID now

Posted on July 7, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

Of course they do. Texas’ new voter identification law fully absolves the state from discriminating against minority voters in 2011, and courts should not take further action in a battle over the state’s old voter ID law, President Donald Trump’s … Continue reading →

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Next round of voter ID briefs ordered

Posted on June 26, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

Moving right along: With the next election season looming, a federal judge has set a fast-paced schedule for determining whether Texas should be penalized for a voter ID law found to have been written by Republicans to intentionally discriminate against minority … Continue reading →

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Yet another report about how much our voter ID law sucked

Posted on June 17, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

Keep ’em coming. Hundreds were delayed from voting and others nearly turned away entirely during the presidential election because of confusion over the status Texas voter ID laws, a new report from a voting rights advocacy group shows. It’s just … Continue reading →

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The DPS two-step

Posted on June 14, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

First, there was this. Despite a two-year budget of $2.4 billion, the Texas Department of Public Safety, with little notice, has reduced office hours at 11 of the state’s busiest driver’s license offices and plans to lay off more than … Continue reading →

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Voter ID plaintiffs ask court to void the law

Posted on June 8, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

As well they should. Lawyers for minority voters and politicians asked a federal judge Wednesday to void the Texas voter ID law, saying it is the next logical step for a statute found to be discriminatory. The lawyers also said … Continue reading →

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Voter ID 2.0 gets final passage

Posted on May 29, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

Hopefully, this will turn out to have been a waste of time. The Texas House and Senate have approved a deal to relax the state’s voter identification requirements, meaning the closely watched legislation now only awaits Gov. Greg Abbott’s approval. … Continue reading →

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House passes Voter ID 2.0

Posted on May 25, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

Some minor changes, but the same basic idea. The Texas House on Tuesday tentatively approved legislation to overhaul the state’s embattled voter identification law, moving it one step closer to Gov. Greg Abbott’s desk. Senate Bill 5 would in several … Continue reading →

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The state’s voter ID failure is much bigger than you think

Posted on May 16, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

You really have to read this. The confusion started in the first hour of the first day of early voting in San Antonio last October. Signs in polling places about the state’s controversial voter ID law contained outdated rules. Poll … Continue reading →

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Who’s your lawyer?

Posted on May 6, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

Ross Ramsey has a simple question. Do you remember the name of the lawyer who advised the Texas House and Senate when they wrote the 2011 voter ID bill? That’s the law a federal judge in Corpus Christi found to … Continue reading →

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The status of Section 3

Posted on April 17, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

Lyle Denniston looks at a key aspect of the voting rights-related lawsuits in Texas. About four years after the Supreme Court took away the government’s strongest authority to protect minority voters’ rights, a backup power under the federal Voting Rights … Continue reading →

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Voter ID education was a massive failure

Posted on April 12, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

This is outrageous. The University of Houston Hobby School of Public Affairs recently completed a report, “The Texas Voter ID Law and the 2016 Election,” based on surveys of registered voters who sat out the 2016 elections in the state’s … Continue reading →

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Voter ID law declared discriminatory

Posted on April 11, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

Again. A federal judge has ruled — for the second time — that Texas lawmakers intentionally discriminated against Latino and black voters in passing a strict voter identification law in 2011. U.S. District Judge Nelva Gonzales Ramos ruled Monday that … Continue reading →

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Some Texas voting rights lawsuit updates

Posted on April 9, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

This has been a busy week for litigation related to voting rights issues in Texas. Here are updates to some cases, all of which happened this past week. From Texas Redistricting: The three-judge panel in the Texas redistricting case has … Continue reading →

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Voter ID 2.0 passes out of the Senate

Posted on March 28, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

Meh. The Texas Senate tentatively approved legislation Monday that would revamp the state’s voter identification rules, a response to court rulings that the current law discriminates against minority voters. Following more than an hour of debate, the chamber voted 21-10 … Continue reading →

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Bill to force transparency on voter ID outreach filed

Posted on March 19, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

I approve. A state lawmaker wants to shine a light on how Texas spends millions of taxpayer dollars to educate the public about its controversial voter ID law. Democratic Rep. Justin Rodriguez is proposing legislation that for the first time … Continue reading →

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Another voter ID update

Posted on March 15, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

From the Lone Star Project: Last week, the Trump Department of Justice brought press attention to the ongoing Texas voter ID lawsuit that remains pending before Federal District Judge Nelva Gonzales Ramos in Corpus Christi. The Trump DOJ withdrew long-standing federal … Continue reading →

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Voter ID 2.0 clears Senate committee

Posted on March 14, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

Seems likely this will go the distance. A Texas Senate panel cleared legislation Monday that would overhaul the state’s voter identification rules, an effort to comply with court rulings that the current law discriminates against black and Latino voters. The … Continue reading →

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Once more with feeling on voter ID

Posted on March 2, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

Slate’s Mark Joseph Stern says that Tuesday’s arguments about whether Texas’ voter ID law was enacted with discriminatory intent or not went well for the plaintiffs, and not for the state or its new buddies in the Justice Department. Tuesday’s … Continue reading →

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Justice Department wants out of voter ID case

Posted on February 28, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

As expected. The U.S. Department of Justice confirmed Monday it plans to ditch its longstanding position that Texas lawmakers purposefully discriminated against minority voters by passing the nation’s strictest voter identification law in 2011. The move comes one day before … Continue reading →

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Voter ID 2.0

Posted on February 23, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

Well, this is interesting. Top Texas Republicans unveiled legislation Tuesday that would overhaul the state’s voter identification rules, an effort to comply with court rulings that have found that the current law discriminates against minority groups. Filed by Sen. Joan … Continue reading →

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On those “improper” votes

Posted on February 22, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

Let’s be clear about this. Texas election officials have acknowledged that hundreds of people were allowed to bypass the state’s toughest-in-the-nation voter ID law and improperly cast ballots in the November presidential election by signing a sworn statement instead of … Continue reading →

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The people who would have been denied the opportunity to vote in 2016

Posted on February 14, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

There were a lot of them. At least 16,400 Texans who voted in the November election wouldn’t have been able to cast ballots if the state’s voter identification law had been in full effect, state voting records show. […] Through … Continue reading →

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Interview with Jose Garza

Posted on January 30, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

So it’s been a busy couple of weeks for the voter ID litigation. There was the motion by the Justice Department to delay the hearing on whether the law was passed with discriminatory intent, which everyone expects is a prelude … Continue reading →

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So what will the Justice Department do with voter ID now?

Posted on January 29, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

We don’t know yet. Hours after President Donald Trump was inaugurated, the Department of Justice filed to postpone a hearing on the Texas Voter ID law. The request was granted. The DOJ had previously argued that the law intentionally discriminated … Continue reading →

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SCOTUS will not review voter ID ruling

Posted on January 24, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

For now. The Supreme Court issued orders from its January 19 conference this morning. After granting review in two cases from that conference last week, the justices did not add any new cases to their merits docket today. But there … Continue reading →

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Voter ID hearing postponed

Posted on January 22, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

I fear this is a portent of things to come. Within hours of Donald Trump being sworn in as president Friday, a Corpus Christi federal court postponed a scheduled hearing in the Texas Voter ID case until next month at … Continue reading →

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