Is the Proposed Voting Rights Act Amendment Constitutionally Defective?

Is the Proposed Voting Rights Act Amendment Constitutionally Defective?

By EditorJan 28, 2014
The recently proposed Voting Rights Act Amendment (VRAA) embodies the ambitious purpose of not only reanimating federal preclearance provisions invalidated by the U.S. Supreme Court this past summer, but it also contemplates a more robust method of adding offending states and local jurisdictions to preclearance supervision beyond the coverage formula. While the main purpose of the VRAA is to update an outdated coverage formula for determining which jurisdictions are subject to preclearance pursuant to the Shelby County v. Holder decision, the proposed legislation does much more. In particular, it expands the statute’s bail-in provisions, which determine under what circumstances a…
Redistricting, Redistricting Litigation
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Congress Makes First Attempt at Voting Rights Act Amendment

Congress Makes First Attempt at Voting Rights Act Amendment

By EditorJan 23, 2014
Photo: David Sachs Last week U.S. Rep Jim Sensenbrenner   introduced the Voting Rights Amendment Act of 2014 (VRAA); a bill to amend the Voting Rights Act of 1965 in an effort to revive the statutes’ powerful preclearance provisions that had allowed direct federal oversight of several states and local jurisdictions’ election-related activities. Last June, the U.S. Supreme Court invalidated the coverage formula in section 4 of the Act that had determined which jurisdictions would be obliged to seek preclearance or approval of all voting procedure changes. With the Supreme Court leaving the preclearance regime hobbled, thousands of election and voting…
Redistricting, Redistricting Litigation, Uncategorized
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Voting Rights and Campaign Finance Intersect in NC Lawsuit

By EditorOct 16, 2013
Plaintiffs in a lawsuit against the NC Legislature's redistricting map have requested for a second time that one of three judges on the panel hearing the case recuse himself. That judge, Paul Newby, had benefited from over $1 million in independent expenditures funded by the Washington-based Republican State Leadership Committee. The same group retained the map-drawer for the North Carolina districts in question under the lawsuit. This is not the first time plaintiffs in the case have asked for judge Newby's removal, Last year, the state supreme court denied a similiar request. The stakes are high at this point in…
Redistricting, Redistricting Litigation
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Why A San Antonio Court Will Consider Preclearance for Texas

By EditorSep 25, 2013
The Texas legislature seemed to be moving on from the fight over its 2011 redistricting maps. The Supreme Court mooted the case against its maps in Shelby v. Holder by invalidating section 4 of the Voting Rights Act this past summer. The San Antonio court litigation considering additional claims against the maps from several plaintiffs, has stalled in the wake of the Shelby decision, but not before arranging the creation of new, temporary redistricting maps used for the 2012 election. The temporary maps became permanent after the Texas legislature and governor enacted the court-sanctioned maps. Texas officials would have liked…
Redistricting, Redistricting Litigation, Redistricting Race Rules
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California Plaintiffs find Easier Litigation Route with State Voting Rights Act

By EditorAug 27, 2013
Minority plaintiffs seeking redress in the courts to combat various forms of minority vote dilution generally had only sections 2 and 5 of the federal Voting Rights Act to make their case. Section 5 only applies to election law changes and was recently nullified by the U.S. Supreme Court’s June 2013 decision to invalidate its coverage formula, - leaving section 2 as the only feasible option for parties with vote dilution claims; Unless you happen to live in California. The California Voting Rights Act (VRA) passed in 2001, makes it easier on plaintiffs to make the case that a particular…
Redistricting, Redistricting Litigation, Redistricting Race Rules, ,
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Persily and Mann Review First Post Shelby Dialogue Among Voting Rights Scholars

By EditorAug 10, 2013
On July 1st, thought leaders in the world of voting rights gathered together at a symposium titled “Voting Rights after Shelby County v. Holder.” Participants included both scholars and practitioners of voting rights law and a thought-provoking discussion ensued exploring the limits of the Shelby decision, the future of the Voting Rights Act and the immediate effects of the decision on voting rights doctrine and practice. The question of the continuing vitality of section 5 of the Voting Rights Act has more than two sides; there are opinions at many different angles, thus the debate is especially nuanced and complex.…
Redistricting, Redistricting Litigation, Redistricting Race Rules
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Justice Dept. Forced to “Drop the Ball” in Some Local Election Controversies

By EditorAug 06, 2013
Before June 25, the Justice Dept. had many balls in the air as it negotiated hundreds of preclearance submissions from local jurisdictions covered under section 5 of the Voting Rights Act. These entities seek approval for any and all election changes; from redistricting maps of council districts to polling place changes. The Supreme Court changed all of that when it invalidated the coverage formula for section 5, effectively dropping all of those balls the Justice Dept. had in the air. The resulting mess from the sudden halt of an extensive administrative reporting system is bound to have some unforeseen outcomes.…
Redistricting, Redistricting Litigation, Redistricting Race Rules, Uncategorized,
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In Malapportionment Claims, Its All About Timing and Context

In Malapportionment Claims, Its All About Timing and Context

By EditorApr 16, 2013
The 2010 census brought good news to Latinos in Pennsylvania. Significant gains where made the Latino population in the Philadelphia area and other regions of the state. This would mean increased representation in the state legislature. Imagine the disappointment when the state elections were held in 2012 under the 2001 reapportionment map. The Legislative Reapportionment Commission had convened and drawn a new state legislative map in 2011, but the state Supreme Court found it constitutionally lacking. With no redistricted map in place, the court allowed the 2001 map to be used for the 2012 state elections.   Some Latino groups…
Equal Protection, Redistricting, Redistricting Criteria, Redistricting Litigation, Strategy and Politics,
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