Other Goings-On in Texas Since The Supreme Court Killed Voting Rights Act Section 5 Preclearance

In Pasadena, TX: “the City of Pasadena in southeast Harris County voted 5-4 to place a proposition on the November 2013 ballot that, if approved by voters, would change the city’s current 8 single member district system of electing members of the city council to a 6-2 system featuring two at large members. State Sen. Sylvia Garcia, MALDEF, and the Houston Chronicle have all expressed concerns that the move would dilute the voting strength of the city’s rapidly growing Hispanic population.”

In Galveston, TX: “Galveston County commissioners have slashed the number of justice of the peace and constable districts a year after the U.S. Justice Department blocked a similar plan as discriminatory.”

Yeah, the end of preclearance matters.  And for those like James Taranto who say the Court didn’t really kill Section 5, only the preclearance provision of section 4, I debunk that claim in my APSA paper (which I’m presenting tomorrow), Shelby County and the Illusion of Minimalism.

 

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