Category Archives: Voting Rights Act
The Media’s Unfortunate Greater Interest in the Texas Redistricting Car Wreck than the Supreme Court’s Slow Poisoning of the Voting Rights Act
I’ve written about two big election stories this week, the newly ignited redistricting wars starting in Texas and the Supreme Court’s strong signal that it could kill off the Voting Rights Act Section 2 by next June. Judged by… Continue reading
Watch Video of My Appearance on the PBS News Hour Talking about the New Redistricting Wars and the Implications for the Voting Rights Act
You can watch at this link:
Or read the transcript.
I Spoke with Crooked Media’s “What a Day” About the Troubling Future of the Voting Rights Act in the Hands of the Supreme Court
Great conversation with Jane Coaston. You can listen here.
We discussed my recent Slate piece, The Supreme Court Just Signaled Something Deeply Disturbing About the Next Term.
Quote of the Day on the Future of the Voting Rights Act in the Supreme Court (Hoping Luis is Right Handed Just in Case)
“To me, this is it . . .I would bet my left arm that they will tell us that Section 2 is in violation of the Fifteenth Amendment.”
–Professor Luis Fuentes-Rohwer, quoted in Democracy Docket.
My New One at MSNBC Opinion: “Trump started a redistricting war. Only Congress can stop it.”
I have written this piece for MSNBC Opinion. It begins:
A sudden war over redistricting has broken out in Texas and looks to spread across the country, with California, New York and elsewhere considering tit-for-tat Democratic partisan gerrymanders to… Continue reading
My New One at Slate on the Supreme Court Potentially Killing the Remaining Pillar of the Voting Rights Act: “The Supreme Court Just Signaled Something Deeply Disturbing About the Next Term”
I have written this piece for Slate. It begins:
Reading the tea leaves from cryptic Supreme Court orders can be perilous business because the justices are not bound by the questions they ask at oral argument, the offhand comments they… Continue reading
Breaking: Supreme Court, in Order Asking for Additional Briefing in Louisiana Voting Case, Appears to Put the Constitutionality of Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act into Question
The Supreme Court just issued this order:
Louisiana had to create that second majority-minority district in order to comply with the Voting Rights Act, as it had been found to face Section 2 VRA liability for not creating that… Continue reading
“Overcoming the Barriers that Native Americans Face in the Voting Process”
James Thomas Tucker, Jacqueline De León & Daniel Craig McCool have written this article for the Urban Lawyer. This article describes the many barriers that Native American voters face, litigation brought to remove those barriers, and proposed policy solutions.
“Texas House Republicans unveil new congressional map that looks to pick up five GOP seats”
Texas Tribune:
Texas GOP lawmakers released their first draft of the state’s new congressional map Wednesday, proposing revamped district lines that attempt to flip five Democratic seats in next year’s midterm elections.
The new map targets Democratic members of… Continue reading
Ellen Katz: “Redistricting Texas Now is Illegal and the U.S. Department of Justice is the Reason Why”
Ellen Katz has posted this draft on SSRN. Here is the abstract:
The U.S. Department of Justice sent a letter to the Texas Governor and Attorney General that claims four Texas congressional districts violate the Voting Rights Act and the… Continue reading
Breaking: 8th Circuit, Following Earlier Decision Holding Private Plaintiffs Cannot Sue to Enforce Section 2 of Voting Rights Act, Now Says No Right to Sue under Voter Assistance Provisions Either [Corrected]
Via Hansi Lo Wang comes this order finding no private right of action under section 208 of the VRA. The fate of this case will likely follow the fate of what the Supreme Court will do with the Section 2 … Continue reading
The Prospect of Bailing-in Alabama
Tomorrow, the three-judge district court in the Alabama congressional redistricting litigation will hold a hearing on whether to bail-in Alabama to the VRA’s preclearance regime. If bailed-in, Alabama would have to seek preapproval for any redistricting changes from either DOJ… Continue reading
Waiting for Callais
Earlier today, Rick Pildes flagged the Court’s inexplicable month-long delay in issuing a re-argument order in Louisiana v. Callais, last Term’s—and now next Term’s—major Shaw case. I agree with Pildes’s concerns and want to add a few points.
First, to… Continue reading