ACLU’s Voting Rights Project Director Dale Ho. See the video below.
This week in the war on voting is a joint project of Joan McCarter and Meteor Blades.
It’s been a big week for court rulings on state voting laws, with two victories and a defeat for voters and their advocates. Let’s start with Texas:
U.S. District Judge Nelva Gonzales Ramos issued a permanent injunction against the state’s strict voter ID law on the grounds that it places too great a burden on African American and Latinos. She also said it was imposed with an unconstitutional purpose, violates the Equal Protection clause, is a poll tax and a violation of the Voting Rights Act.
Gonzales’ 147-page ruling might normally go to the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals whose conservative leanings make it likely the decision would be overruled. But Texas attorney general and gubernatorial candidate Greg Abbott has said he will appeal immediately to the Supreme Court. Either way, it seems possible the photo ID law could be restored in time for the election this year.
The Texas law was passed in 2011 but blocked initially when the civil rights division of the Department of Justice took the matter to federal court under Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act. Under that provision, Texas was one of states required, as a result of past discrimination under its Jim Crow regime, to pre-clear with the DOJ any changes in its voting laws. The District Court of the District of Columbia ruled against the Texas law. But the Supreme Court overturned Section 4 of the VRA in 2013, making Section 5 moot. That meant Texas officials were free to reinstate the voter ID law, which it did. But foes dragged it into court again, this time under Section 2 of the VRA.
Gonzales’ ruling came after a two-week trial in Corpus Christi.
“We are greatly encouraged by today’s decision,” stated Gary Bledsoe, president of the Texas NAACP and an attorney with PotterBledsoe. “This decision vindicates what African American and Latino leaders have been saying since this law was first proposed, that it discriminates against minority voters and was designed to do just that.”
Below the orange gerrymander you’ll find analysis of the other court decisions and other war on voting news.
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