Texas Redistricting: January 2012

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Texas Redistricting: January 2012

MOVE Act

Obama DOJ Protects Military Voters From Texas Republicans

Ryan J. Reilly | January 27, 2012, 6:27PM

The Justice Department said in a filing on Friday that the primary schedule proposed by the Texas Republican Party wouldn't give enough time for military and overseas voters to participate in the election process in violation of the Military and Overseas Voter Empowerment (MOVE) Act.

Here's the kicker: conservatives -- led by Texas Republican Sen. John Cornyn -- have long been on a crusade against the Justice Department for what they said was a failure to protect military voters under the MOVE Act.

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Topics: MOVE Act, Texas, Texas Redistricting

Texas

Supreme Court Tosses Out Court Drawn Texas Redistricting Maps

Ryan J. Reilly | January 20, 2012, 11:32AM

The Supreme Court in Washington, DC

The Supreme Court on Friday tossed out an interim Texas redistricting map drawn by a federal court, handing a partial victory to Republicans in Texas. The decision on whether the maps are discriminatory or if they should be precleared under Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act is still up to a separate panel of judges in federal court in D.C.

"Speaking non-technically, the Supreme Court held that the three-judge court erred in starting its redistricting plan from scratch," law professor Rick Hasen explained. "It should have started with the state's plan, and then adjusted to the extent the plan violated the Voting Rights Act or the Constitution."

The District Court, according to the Supreme Court decision, "also appears to have unnecessarily ignored the State's plans in drawing certain individual districts." Oral arguments for the case were heard earlier this month.

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Topics: Texas, Texas Redistricting

Texas Redistricting

Supreme Court Hears Oral Arguments In Texas Redistricting Case

Ryan J. Reilly | January 9, 2012, 5:00PM

The Supreme Court in Washington, DC

The Supreme Court heard oral arguments on Monday in a case that could have big legal consequences in Texas this election year as well as portend an uncertain future for Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act.

The justices seemed to struggle with how to handle a case focusing on Texas redistricting given the tight time constrains and the need to implement some map for the 2012 election. At issue is whether a panel of federal judges in San Antonio had gone too far when they drew up interim redistricting maps before a separate panel of judges had ruled on whether the original maps drawn by the legislature were discriminatory. Under Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act the burden of proof is on Texas to prove that their redistricting maps were not discriminatory, because of the state's history of racial discrimination.