Voting Newsletter: DOJ Rejects Texas Voting Law
Latest Developments
Justice Department Rejects Texas Voter ID Law
The Department of Justice objected to Texas’ voter ID law Monday, determining the law would discriminate against minority voters, particularly Hispanics.
“Even using the data most favorable to the state, Hispanics disproportionately lack either a driver’s license or a personal identification card,” Assistant Attorney General Thomas Perez said in a letter to the Texas director of elections.
The same day, the Brennan Center and other legal groups moved to intervene to stop the restrictive photo ID law, which will also be reviewed in federal court. The motion, on behalf of the Texas NAACP and the Mexican American Legislative Caucus, argues the law erects unnecessary barriers to voting and disenfranchises hundreds of thousands of minority voters.
“Decades ago, our nation passed the Voting Rights Act to combat this kind of discrimination,” said Brennan Center Senior Counsel Myrna Pérez. “We urge the federal court to stand up for voters by blocking this law.”
This news comes just days after a Houston Chronicle analysis found that Texas’ voter ID law “could affect as many as 2.3 million registered voters.” (Image source: Houston Chronicle)
Court Rejects Voter Suppression Efforts
As November approaches, voter intimidation looms as a next battleground. A federal court in Philadelphia last week made clear the limits to what is allowed.
The judge upheld a long-standing consent decree prohibiting the Republican National Committee from using improper election tactics. The consent decree specifically bars the organization from using voter challengers, poll watchers, and a practice known as “vote caging” to target and intimidate voters of color.
“Under the agreement, the Republican National Committee must obtain court approval before implementing certain poll-monitoring activities in minority precincts,” Reuters reports.
The court’s opinion described how poll watchers and poll challengers have the potential to disenfranchise lawful voters by causing delays, crowding, and confusion inside the polling place and creating a charged partisan atmosphere that can intimidate many new voters. Here’s an analysis of these past problems.
With the 2012 election fast approaching, it is important for state officials to ensure other political groups — not just the RNC — follow the law and refrain from using poll watchers to intimidate or discriminate against voters, writes the Brennan Center’s Nic Riley.
State Updates
Pennsylvania – The state Senate passed a voter ID bill, which the House is expected to vote on today. Opponents of the bill are still fighting, saying it limits a basic right. Read more here and here. Read an op-ed opposing the law from Keesha Gaskins, senior counsel at the Brennan Center.
Wisconsin – A Dane County judge ruled Wisconsin’s voter ID law unconstitutional on Monday and “permanently barred further steps” to enforce it. This comes one week after another judge, in a separate lawsuit, temporarily blocked the law before the April 3 presidential primary. Read the Brennan Center’s statement. Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen announced he will appeal the decision.
Meanwhile, after a veteran protested at the polls because they wouldn’t accept his ID, a state Rep. introduced a bill to allow Veterans Affairs cards to vote. Lawmakers are also pushing the Seniors Vote Act, which would require the DMV “to take photos of seniors at their residence” for voter IDs.
Florida – A federal court is expected to make a decision soon on whether to block enforcement of the state’s voting law, which the Brennan Center’s Lee Rowland called “a mess.” Read more here and here. The Department of Justice objected to the law in a filing to the court. A proposal to increase early voting was rejected in the state Senate.
Virginia – A voter ID bill passed the House and is headed to the governor’s desk for signature. Read the Washington Post editorial urging Gov. McDonnell not to sign the bill. Read more here.
Tennessee – Former Rep. Lincoln Davis was denied the right to vote on Super Tuesday after he was incorrectly purged from the rolls. Watch Davis on Current TV fighting back “against voter suppression tactics.”
California – Nonprofit groups filed a lawsuit arguing “convicted felons serving time in county jails should be allowed to vote.”
Colorado – Secretary of State Scott Gessler has repeatedly claimed non-citizens are registered to vote. What do election officials think? “I really have no idea what he is talking about,” Republican Mesa County Clerk and Recorder Sheila Reiner. Read more about Colorado and the voter ID war.
Illinois – A voter ID bill was held up in a Senate committee.
Iowa – The Senate Majority Leader said a proposed voter ID bill will not move forward this year.
Minnesota – State Democrats continue to push electronic poll books as an alternative to voter ID. In the meantime, the Senate Finance Committee advanced the voter ID measure, which could be on the ballot as a referendum this November.
Nebraska – Debate continues on a voter ID bill.
New Hampshire – The state Senate voted 18-5 in favor of a voter ID bill, which now heads to the House.
Ohio – An 86-year-old man with a Veterans Affairs ID was not allowed to vote in the Super Tuesday primary. “My beef is that I had to pay a driver to take me up there because I don’t walk so well and have to use this cane and now I can’t even vote,” said Paul Carroll.
Texas – As detailed above, the Department of Justice objected to the state’s voter ID law because of its disproportionate impact on minority voters. The Brennan Center has sought to intervene in federal court to stop the law. Meanwhile, a Houston Chronicle analysis found that the state’s law “could affect as many as 2.3 million registered voters.”
West Virginia – A House committee debated a voter ID bill.
See our comprehensive update of voting law changes through 2011.
National Landscape
- The New York Times and Washington Post applauded the Justice Department for rejecting the Texas voter ID law.
- Ari Berman at Rolling Stone: “War on Voting Targets Swing States.”
- CQ’s Eliza Newlin Carney wrote a cover story on “The Election’s Second Front” — restrictive voting laws. Also see the follow-up story on groups waging battle over voter ID laws.
- Ms. Magazine also wrote about the war on voting, highlighting the fight in Florida and citing extensively from the Brennan Center’s research.
- Will Oremus at Slate asked: Is Obama letting the Voting Rights Act “die before the Supreme Court kills it?”
- The National Urban League named voting as the number one issue for African Americans in 2012. See more at CNN and MSNBC.
- The NAACP will head to Geneva this week to discuss suppressive voting laws before a UN panel.
- RT News reported on America’s outdated voter registration system, speaking to Brennan Center expert Lawrence Norden.
- The New York Times commented on the lack of “dead voters” in South Carolina.
- Rachel Maddow highlighted a former Marine in Tennessee who challenged the state’s new voter ID law.
- The Nation discussed voting law changes in two swing states — Pennsylvania and Florida.
New Data and Research
Broken Ballots: Will Your Vote Count?
“Whatever the truth may be, the recounts and legal conflicts that followed Election 2000 raised serious doubts about the integrity of our system of elections. We are not interested in re-hashing the outcome of that election, but, like Joseph Harris over 75 years ago, we want to answer two questions: How did the United States come to accept voting systems and systems of election administration that could produce such unclear outcomes? And what can we do to improve things?” Read more about this new book from by Douglas W. Jones and Barbara Simons.
Other News
- A Tennessee Congressman introduced a bill to provide free IDs to vote.
- Election experts Rob Richie and Paul Gronke called for ranked-choice ballots as a way to uphold voter rights.
- Redistricting delays in Texas have caused havoc with the state’s voter registration cards. Read more at electiononlineWeekly.
