This applies to our discussion of federalism, as well as elections, and probably the executive branch and checks and balances as well. Citing the Voting Rights Act, the Justice Department blocked implementation of Texas' voter ID law - which mandated that pre-approved picture ID's be presented when a voter casts a vote.
The Justice Department argued that the law disproportionately disenfranchises minority voters - especially Hispanic voters. From the NYT:
In a letter to the Texas state government, Thomas E. Perez, the assistant attorney general for civil rights, said the state had failed to meet its requirement, under the Voting Rights Act, to show that the measure would not disproportionately disenfranchise registered minority voters.
“Even using the data most favorable to the state, Hispanics disproportionately lack either a driver’s license or a personal identification card,” Mr. Perez wrote, “and that disparity is statistically significant.”
Texas has roughly 12.8 million registered voters, of whom about 2.8 million are Hispanic. The state had supplied two sets of data comparing its voter rolls with a list of people who had valid state-issued photo identification cards — one from September and the other from January — showing that Hispanic voters were 46.5 percent to 120 percent more likely to lack such identification than were non-Hispanics.
Under the Voting Rights Act, jurisdictions that have a history of suppressing minority voting — like Texas — must show that any proposed change to voting rules would not have a disproportionate effect on minority voters, even if there is no evidence of discriminatory intent.
Such “pre-clearance” can be granted either by the Justice Department or by a panel of federal judges.
This story raises a few issues we will be hitting on 16-week 2301 soon enough:
- The Voting Rights Act
- Preclearance.
- Voter ID laws. State Requirements.
- Electoral Fraud.
- Justice Department, Civil Rights Division.
