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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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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Evenwel SCOTUS Decision News and Analysis Round Up

By EditorApr 05, 2016
The first round of media, academia and policy wonks have weighed in on the somewhat surprising unanimous decision by the Supreme Court this week in the much anticipated equal population case Evenwel v. Abbott.  Here is the News Analysis Round-up:       How A Challenge to Legislative Redistricting Backfired.  The Atlantic CVAP (Citizens of Voting Age Population) Lives to Fight Another Day.  Forbes The Supreme Court upheld ‘one person, one vote.’ But don’t expect the battle over counting Americans to end.  Wash. Post Analysis: In Texas Case, Supreme Court Rules Nonvoters are People, Too. Texas Tribune District Fight May…
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Weekly Redistricting Update

Weekly Redistricting Update

By EditorNov 17, 2015
Florida: State Legislature Cries "Uncle," Gives Up On a Legislative District Map Last week the Florida Legislature ended its second special redistricting session without a map for state senate districts. Senate leaders are throwing the issue back to the court, and have proposed that the court have a special master draw the map. This "proposal" reflects many senators' disapproval of the court's handling of the congressional map redraw, which invited parties to the litigation to propose maps instead of having a more neutral party redraw the lines. A court hearing is schedule for December 14th.   Virginia: Supreme Court Will…
Redistricting, , ,
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Weekly Update

Weekly Update

By EditorOct 19, 2015
Florida: Special Session for Redistricting Begins With its congressional map tied up in the courts, legislators in Florida have convened a another special session to redraw state senate lines in an effort to head off court invalidation. It is scheduled to last three weeks and state news organizations report it is likely to be a contentious one. You can view the current districts and 6 proposed map that have been unveiled so far.   Ohio: Redistricting Ballot Measure Not as Sexy as Other Issues Good government groups backing Ohio Ballot Issue 1 are up against widespread ignorance about the proposal.…
Redistricting, REFORM, , ,
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Appeals Court Overturns Lawyer Fees in Texas Redistricting Case

Appeals Court Overturns Lawyer Fees in Texas Redistricting Case

By EditorApr 08, 2015
AUSTIN, TX — A federal appeals panel has reversed a decision granting roughly $360,000 in legal fees to lawyers who helped former Democratic gubernatorial candidate Wendy Davis fend off Republican-drawn political boundaries as part of a yearslong court fight over Texas’ redistricting maps. Read more in the San Antonio Express. Read the Opinion here.
Casedocs, Redistricting, , , ,
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Politics or Voter Discrimination? Texas City Sued for Election Changes

Politics or Voter Discrimination? Texas City Sued for Election Changes

By EditorMar 23, 2015
Pasadena, Texas: MALDEF (Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund)  filed suit this past November after the Mayor of Pasadena, Texas successfully pushed a proposition to voters that would change an 8 member city council elected by district to one with 6 single member districts and 2 members elected at-large, by the entire city. Advocates of the narrowly passed measure touted it as a way to ensure that there are some council members looking out for the city as a whole, as opposed to narrowly focusing on the voters in their own district. What sounds like a good democratic goal…
Redistricting, ,
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Do Ineligible Voters Infringe on Eligible Voter’s Rights?

Do Ineligible Voters Infringe on Eligible Voter’s Rights?

By EditorMar 11, 2015
The Supreme Court will decide soon whether to take the case of a Texas voter who claims that her vote has been unconstitutionally diluted because her rural district has substantially more voters compared to other, urban districts comprised of many noncitizen, ineligible voters. The claim is that this makes her vote less influential than her counterparts in urban districts. The practical question in this case is whether line-drawers should be using 'total population' or "citizen voting age population' as the measure for drawing equally populated election districts. This Cato Institute article explains the case; Evenwel v. Abbott  in more detail.
Redistricting, , ,
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