Category Archives: Department of Justice

DOJ Files SCOTUS Brief Mostly Supporting District Court Interim Maps in Texas Redistricting Case

December 28, 2011, 3:40 pmDepartment of Justice, redistricting, Voting Rights ActRick Hasen

You can read the brief here. (Texas redistricting has all the amicus briefs filed so far here.) As I expected, DOJ (and soon the respondents) make much of the D.C. Circuit’s recent opinion denying preclearance of the… Continue reading

“Justice Department Rejects Voter ID Law in South Carolina”

December 23, 2011, 5:04 pmDepartment of Justice, election administration, The Voting Wars, voter id, Voting Rights ActRick Hasen

NY Times: South Carolina now faces the choice of dropping the proposed change or asking a federal court in the District of Columbia to approve the law. Richard L. Hasen, an election law specialist at the University of California,… Continue reading

Texas AG Predicts on Twitter that DOJ Will Deny Preclearance to Texas Voter ID Law

December 23, 2011, 4:12 pmDepartment of Justice, voter id, Voting Rights ActRick Hasen

See here. J. Christian Adams urges Texas to pull its preclearance submission. And South Carolina is going to court over the denial of preclearance of its voter id law.

Breaking News: DOJ Blocks South Carolina Voter ID Law Under Voting Rights Act; Case Could Be Vehicle to Get Supreme Court to Strike Down Section 5 of VRA Relatively Soon

December 23, 2011, 1:18 pmDepartment of Justice, election administration, Voting Rights ActRick Hasen

See these stories. Here is the letter from DOJ. DOJ finds racial disparities in the effect of the photo id law precludes allowing preclearance. But in light of new evidence submitted by South Carolina, DOJ invites the state to… Continue reading

Only 33,000, Not 240,000, South Carolina Voters Lacking ID?

December 22, 2011, 9:50 pmDepartment of Justice, election administration, Voting Rights ActRick Hasen

AP reports. The 240,000 figure always struck me as very high. It will be interesting to see how DOJ treats this new analysis as it decides whether to preclear South Carolina’s voter i.d. law. The current deadline for that… Continue reading

More Breaking News: 3-Judge DC Court Explains Its Decision Denying Texas Summary Judgment in Redistricting Case

December 22, 2011, 9:30 pmDepartment of Justice, redistricting, Voting Rights ActRick Hasen

Though the three-judge-court denied summary judgment a few weeks ago and set the Texas redistricting case in DC for trial, it did not issue an opinion at that time. It said an opinion would come later (to give time for… Continue reading

von Spakovksy Alleges Perjury By Justice Department Employee Reviewing Texas Redistricting Submissions

December 21, 2011, 10:17 pmDepartment of Justice, Voting Rights ActRick Hasen

Given the source, I’d take this [CORRECTED LINK] with a large grain of salt. But I suspect we will be hearing a lot more about this in coming days. The title of this post was also corrected to point… Continue reading

“A Partisan Lightning Rod is Undeterred”

December 19, 2011, 10:00 amDepartment of JusticeRick Hasen

NYT must-read interview with AG Eric Holder, just before his voting right speech at the LBJ library.

“Voting Rights Controversies Wreak Havoc in Texas”

December 16, 2011, 7:34 amDepartment of Justice, redistricting, Supreme Court, Voting Rights ActRick Hasen

ABC News reports.

“Supreme Court and Justice Department on Collision Course Over Texas Redistricting and Minorities’ Voting Rights”

December 14, 2011, 11:40 amDepartment of Justice, redistricting, Supreme Court, Voting Rights ActRick Hasen

AlterNet reports.

Oppositions to Texas Stay Applications; Pam Karlan Joins Case

December 1, 2011, 8:52 pmDepartment of Justice, redistricting, Voting Rights ActRick Hasen

See these updates at Texas Redistricting. I have not seen any opposition to the stay from DOJ. Is one coming?

A Couple of Interesting Points Re: Texas Stay Request

November 30, 2011, 2:14 pmDepartment of Justice, redistricting, Supreme Court, Voting Rights ActRick Hasen

1. These briefs (lead author Paul Clement) are exceptionally well done and clear. This is one of the murkiest cases I’ve seen, but the brief is clear and strong. The Upham point on deferring as much as possible to the… Continue reading

Read Texas’s Emergency Stay Application of Congressional Redistricting Plan

November 30, 2011, 1:27 pmDepartment of Justice, redistricting, Voting Rights ActRick Hasen

Here. So last week I wasn’t wrong; just clairvoyant.

Breaking News: Texas Going to U.S. Supreme Court to Block Redistricting Plan [corrected title]

November 26, 2011, 4:04 pmDepartment of Justice, redistricting, Supreme Court, Voting Rights ActRick Hasen

Correction and Update: The press release issued today indicates that the state plans to seek a stay as to the state redistricting plans, which were finalized Friday. There is no mention of seeking a stay as to the Congressional plan.… Continue reading