Galveston County redistricting case draws divide among federal appeals court judges
The 5th Circuit expressed skepticism about arguments from both sides in considering whether a coalition of Black and Latino voters should be granted the same protections as a single racial group under the Voting Rights Act.
Judge rules Galveston County must redraw 2021 redistricting map which violates Voting Rights Act
A judge ruled on Friday that Galveston County must redraw its 2021 redistricting map because it violates the Voting Rights Act and United States Constitution, according to a news release from the Texas Civil Rights Project.
Federal judge tells Beaumont election officials not to harass or discriminate against Black voters
Claims of misconduct during early voting were raised in a federal lawsuit filed Monday by the Beaumont chapter of the NAACP, accusing election workers of scrutinizing Black votersโ identities and shadowing them while at voting stations
โUnwinnable raceโ: State Sen. Beverly Powell of Burleson ends reelection bid, citing redrawn political map
Powell, a Democrat, had won Senate District 10 by winning over a coalition of diverse voters in Tarrant County. The GOP redrew the district to branch out to counties to the south and west that made it more rural and more white.
Analysis: When 1 in 8 Texas mail ballots gets trashed, thatโs vote suppression
Nearly 23,000 Texans voted in this monthโs party primaries and saw their mail ballots rejected by election officials, evidently an aftershock from new state laws that were supposed to make voting easier and more secure.
Watch live: Harris County attorney speaks on lawsuit challenging controversial Texasโ voting bill, SB1.
Harris County Attorney Christian Menefee will hold a press conference Friday afternoon to give an update on the preliminary injunction hearing in lawsuit challenging Texasโ voting bill, Senate Bill 1.
High court's Alabama ruling sparks alarm over voting rights
The Supreme Courtโs decision to halt efforts to create a second mostly Black congressional district in Alabama for the 2022 election has sparked fresh warnings that the court is eroding the Voting Rights Act and reviving the need for Congress to intervene.
Texas violated voting rights law during redistricting, retiring state GOP senator says in sworn court statement
A three-judge federal panel is hearing arguments in a lawsuit claiming that Texas Republicans violated the Voting Rights Act when they redrew state Senate District 10 in Tarrant County to lessen Black and Hispanic voting power.
Analysis: A Texas election in the shade of governmentโs third branch
Challenges to new Texas laws on voting, political districts and abortion are all pending in court, as is the stateโs challenge to federal vaccine mandates. But until the courts rule, those laws remain in place โ and they provide political fodder for the incumbents who support them.
U.S. Department of Justice files suit against Texas over voting law saying SB 1 improperly restricts, harms voters
The U.S. Justice Department announced Thursday that it has filed a lawsuit against the State of Texas and the Texas Secretary of State over voting procedures it deems restrictive that have been put into place by Texas Senate Bill 1, which was signed into law in September 2021.
Justice Department sues Texas over new voting law, targeting restrictions on mail-in ballots and voter assistance
The elderly, voters with disabilities and voters with limited English proficiency risk disenfranchisement under sweeping legislation Texas Republicans pushed through earlier this year, the justice department argues in its legal challenge to Senate Bill 1.
New Texas voting laws, political maps could once again require federal approval under U.S. House bill named after John Lewis
The federal bill seeks to reinstate sections of the 1965 Voting Rights Act that were written to protect people of color. Texas House Democrats see it as a way to prevent implementing provisions of a Texas voting restrictions bill moving through the state Legislature.
Sen. Joe Manchin, key Democratic holdout on federal voting protections, coming to Texas for fundraiser hosted by several GOP donors
The fundraiser comes just a day after Manchin met with Texas House Democrats on Capitol Hill who are desperate for his support of the congressional efforts which could preempt the statewide GOPโs push to pass bills that would restrict voting access for Texans.
Behind the partisan drama lies a profoundly serious struggle over who gets shut out under Texas voting laws
Whose voices will be heard in Texas halls of power? That question beats at the heart of the Democratic quorum break that has brought the Legislature to a halt and focused national attention on GOP efforts to make voting in Texas harder.
Democrats fear Texas Republicans will push even harder in second bid to pass new voting restrictions
As the Legislature's special session dawns, political developments have raised the stakes for how far Republicans might go in enacting new voting restrictions, and how they might impact voters of color.
Analysis: Texas lawmakers might get a second life for dying bills
As the end of the regular session approaches, Texas lawmakers โ and some of their bills โ are running out of time. But there's a special session coming later this year, and maybe โ just maybe โ another chance for dead legislation.
Supreme Court could put new limits on voting rights lawsuits
Eight years after carving the heart out of a landmark voting rights law, the Supreme Court is looking at putting new limits on efforts to combat racial discrimination in voting. (AP Photo/Matt York, File)WASHINGTON โ Eight years after carving the heart out of a landmark voting rights law, the Supreme Court is looking at putting new limits on efforts to combat racial discrimination in voting. โIt cannot rely simply on the past.โAdDemocrats in Congress will try again to revive the advance approval provision of the voting rights law. AdNearly 75 businesses, including PayPal, Levi Strauss and Impossible Foods, joined in a brief urging the court to โfully preserve the Voting Rights Act." The Justice Department will not be part of Tuesdayโs arguments, a rarity in a voting rights case.
โModern-day voter suppressionโ: Advocates, officials call on Abbott to rescind order limiting ballot drop-off sites
Greg Abbott to rescind the order he issued last week that limits the number of mail-in ballot drop-off sites to one per county. Abbott said Thursday that his order is meant to strengthen voting security and prevent illegal voting attempts during the coronavirus pandemic. Most people who spoke at Mondayโs news conference highlighted the sheer size of Harris County when making the case against reducing the number of drop-off sites in the county from 12 to one. Max Miller Jr., leader of the ministers' association, called Abbottโs order โcrookedโ and โmodern-day voter suppression,โ saying that Abbott knows his order is directed at the Black community. Limiting the number of drop-off sites available to absentee voters reduces the options Texans have to participate in the 2020 election without risking their health,โ Drazin continued.
Supreme Court to review Arizona 'ballot harvesting' law
WASHINGTON โ The Supreme Court said Friday it will review a 2016 Arizona law that bars anyone but a family member or caregiver from returning another personโs early ballot. In the Arizona case, a federal appeals court ruled in January that Arizona's law banning so-called โballot harvestingโ violates the Voting Rights Act and the Constitution, but the court put its ruling on hold while the Supreme Court was asked to take the case. The court said both have a discriminatory impact on minority voters in violation of the Voting Rights Act. The high court in recent years has weakened the Voting Rights Act, throwing out the most powerful part of the landmark law in 2013. The Supreme Court has already filled its argument calendar through December, so none of the cases will be argued before January 2021.
Election chaos renews focus on gutted Voting Rights Act
Nothing more and nothing less.But the meltdown was also a manifestation of a landmark Supreme Court case that gutted a key provision of the Voting Rights Act. Conservatives are trying to use an Arizona case over absentee voting to further weaken the Voting Rights Act. Joe Biden, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, has called for restoring the Voting Rights Act, but he has not released detailed proposals. A White House spokesman declined to comment when asked whether Trump might ever pursue a Voting Rights Act update. The previous requirements were a key voting rights tool because it turned a usual legal principle on its head.