Court Rules 28 of 170 N.C. Legislative Districts are Racial Gerrymanders

Court Rules 28 of 170 N.C. Legislative Districts are Racial Gerrymanders

By EditorAug 16, 2016
North Carolina - Last Thursday, a three-judge U.S. District Court panel ruled that 28 of the Republican-drawn districts for the N.C. legislature were indeed unconstitutional racial gerrymanders. The Republican practice of making "safe" minority districts even "safer" to comply with the Voting Rights Act was completely disavowed by the court.  In short, the Voting Rights Act does not mandate districts in which minorities are already successful at electing their preferred candidates, to be packed with even more minority voters - something that North Carolina insisted was the case. The districts will stand for the 2016 election however.  The court has ordered a…
Race in Redistricting, Racial Gerrymandering, Redistricting, Redistricting Gerrymanders, Redistricting Litigation, Redistricting Race Rules, , , ,
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Fourth Circuit: N.C. Voter ID Law Targets Blacks with “Surgical Precision”

Fourth Circuit: N.C. Voter ID Law Targets Blacks with “Surgical Precision”

By EditorAug 01, 2016
North Carolina - The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit has overturned the lower court ruling that had upheld North Carolina's comprehensive voter identification requirements.  The panel commented that this law targeted African-American voters with "surgical precision." http://www.nbcnews.com/widget/video-embed/735007299516 Read the court opinion here. Read more in the Washington Post. Read more in the New York Times.
Race in Redistricting, Redistricting, Redistricting Race Rules, ,
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Unpacking the Texas Voter ID Decision

By EditorJul 27, 2016
Philadelphia, Pa. -  Lyle Denniston of The Nation Constitution Center in Philadelphia writes this thorough review of the Circuit Court's decision in Veasey et al. v. Abbott, which significantly modifies implementation of Texas' voter ID law.  It was a 203 page opinion, Denniston details the reasoning of the plurality, concurrences and the dissent. Read more here.
Redistricting, Redistricting Race Rules, ,
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Meet the Man Behind the Texas Voter ID Lawsuit

Meet the Man Behind the Texas Voter ID Lawsuit

By EditorJul 26, 2016
Texas - U.S. Rep. Marc Veasey was a state legislator in Texas when that body passed a comprehensive Voter Identification law.  He had misgivings after witnessing the legislative debate and eventually sued.  North Texas public radio's Rick Holter sat down with Veasey, who represents Texas' 33rd congressional district, to discuss what brought him to sue and whether he thinks the recent Fifth Circuit ruling will relieve the harms he says it causes to some voters. Listen below.  
Redistricting, Redistricting Litigation, Redistricting Race Rules,
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U.S. Census Bureau Extends Comment on Residence Rules

U.S. Census Bureau Extends Comment on Residence Rules

By EditorJul 25, 2016
Washington DC - The Census Bureau is extending the comment period on the Proposed 2020 Census Residence Criteria and Residence Situations, which was published in the Federal Register on June 30, 2016. The comment period for the proposed criteria, which would have ended on August 1, 2016, is now extended until September 1, 2016. The full text of the Bureau's message is below.   The U.S. Census Bureau is committed to counting every person in the 2020 Census once, only once, and in the right place. The fundamental reason that the decennial census is conducted is to fulfill the Constitutional requirement (Article I,…
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VA State Supreme Court Blocks Executive Order Restoring Voting Rights to Felons

VA State Supreme Court Blocks Executive Order Restoring Voting Rights to Felons

By EditorJul 25, 2016
Virginia - On Friday, Virginia's state supreme court blocked governor Terry McAuliffe’s move to restore voting rights to felons that have completed their sentence in a scathing 4-3 opinion that chided the state's top executive for the “unprecedented scope, magnitude, and categorical nature” of the executive order. Read more in the Wall Street Journal. The court emphasized that the governor's clemency powers were meant to be affected on a case-by-case basis.       11,600 former felons are already registered to vote under the now defunct order. Those registrations will now be cancelled per the court's order. Dissenting judges contended that the…
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Texas Appeals Court Rejects Voter ID Law. Sort of

Texas Appeals Court Rejects Voter ID Law. Sort of

By EditorJul 25, 2016
Texas - This Wednesday the U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals dealt a major blow to the 2011 Texas Voter ID law which has been in effect now since 2013.  The main legal challenge against this law, which specifies 7 types of photo identification that must be used to register and vote - has been that it violates the Voting Right Act both because it was passed by the legislature with an intent to discriminate against poor and minority voters and because in practice, it has a discriminatory effect on those groups. With respect to the discriminatory effect claim, the…
Casedocs, Redistricting, Redistricting Litigation, Redistricting Race Rules,
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Navajo Lawsuit Against Off-Reservation Polling Places Survives Motion to Dismiss

Navajo Lawsuit Against Off-Reservation Polling Places Survives Motion to Dismiss

By EditorJul 19, 2016
Utah - Residents of a Navajo reservation have filed suit against San Juan county election officials after polling places were closed in and around the reservation.  While county voters may mail-in their ballots, the plaintiffs in the lawsuit claim that there is no "in-person" voting available on the reservation, and this interferes with the reservation inhabitant's voting rights.  This week a judge denied the election officials' motion to dismiss.  Read more in the Salt Lake Tribune.
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