Courts Have Blocked Three Discriminatory Texas Voting Laws in Eight Days

[deminks]

http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2017/08/courts-have-blocked-three-discriminatory-texas-voting-laws-in-eight-days/#testa

On August 15, a three-judge federal court in San Antonio ruled that Texas’ 2013 congressional redistricting maps were enacted with “racially discriminatory intent” against Latino and African American voters.

On August 17, the Fifth District Court of Appeals ruled that Texas’ restrictions on assistance to non-English-speaking voters violated the Voting Rights Act.

On August 23, a federal district court in Corpus Christi ruled that Texas’ voter ID law, amended by the state legislature in 2017, had a “discriminatory purpose” against minority voters.

That’s three rulings against Texas for discriminating against minority voters in eight days. Moreover, Wednesday’s decision was the eighth finding of intentional discrimination by the courts against Texas since 2011.

(snip)

When he invalidated part of the Voting Rights Act in 2013, Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts wrote that “things have changed dramatically” in the South. Recent court decisions in Texas tell a different story.

(end snip)

We told you so, Mr. Roberts.

[BittyJenkins]

1. Hallelujah!

Obama said not to despair because we are a country of laws. I hope this is a big first step.

Hallelujah Amen Amen! (I used to sing in choirs a lot :- )

[deminks]

2. Welcome to DU, BittyJenkins!

[BigmanPigman]

3. Yeah, they're on a roll. I hope it has a domino effect.

[Proud Liberal Dem]

4. Thank goodness we have a pretty sturdy federal judiciary at the moment

preventing a lot of right-wing silliness from becoming enforced.

[L. Coyote]

5. "... the eighth finding of intentional discrimination by the courts against Texas since 2011."

Meanwhile, Trump is loading the courts.

[gratuitous]

7. And the Texas lege will just pass another bill

At the proper time, the Texas Legislature will pass another disenfranchisement bill that will be challenged in court. While it's wending its slow way to being slapped down, the 2018 general election will be held, and the results tabulated. When the latest restrictions are ruled unconstitutional, the election will be long over, and we'll gear up and do it all again in 2020.

This is why it was so crucial for Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act to be overturned. Pre-clearance of these unconstitutional shenanigans meant that whatever ingenious method the Republicans came up with to restrict the vote to their voters, it wouldn't go into effect because it had to pass a constitutional analysis. Now the concept has been turned on its head. Until a court makes the obvious ruling that these unconstitutional restrictions are unconstitutional, the laws go into effect, cheat a substantial portion of the electorate out of their vote, and solidify the cheaters' hold on elected offices. Every election that goes by is a little more discouraging for people who want to change things, but who are shut out of the polling places.

Someday this diabolical scheme will be ended.

[DK504]

6. The wheels of justice move far to slow for one for me.

I wonder if the 7 million people that voted for Stein and Johnson thought for one second that the SCOTUS would be put into the hands of fascists.

[Gothmog]

8. Yeah