Category Archives: Texas

Witnesses to be finalized in Texas voter ID case

Posted on by

Officials from the U.S. Department of Justice and the state of Texas will confer today to determine who will testify in federal court next week in the case over the Texas voter ID law.

One representative from each party will join a conference call with the Washington D.C. District Court at 3 p.m. EDT to designate which witnesses will testify in person or whether depositions will be provided.

Each party also will have a chance to object to the final witness lists.

The court also will address scheduling.  The trial is set to begin at 9:30 a.m. EDT Monday.

By Annelise Russell, News21

News21 prepares for Texas voter ID court case

Posted on by

On Monday, Washington, D.C., District Court will hear testimony over the Department of Justice’s rejection of the Texas voter ID law.

The News21 team is gearing up for the trip to D.C., and as we prepare for this case, we wanted to give you a brief look at the major players and what is at stake.

The law

The Texas Legislature passed its voter ID law in March 2011 on a party line vote — Republicans in favor and Democrats opposed.

Federal approval

Texas is one of nine states subject to preclearance by the U.S. Department of Justice under Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act. After a slow response by Justice and the denial of a similar law in South Carolina, Texas officials decided to sue Attorney General Eric Holder before the Texas law could be denied preclearance.

The state sued on Jan. 23, although the department did not
formally deny preclearance until March.

What’s at stake

Texas legislators argue that the law is an attempt to prevent voter fraud by instilling confidence in the electoral process and giving election officials the tools to maintain the integrity of elections.

In court documents filed by Texas, the state also argues that federal oversight of the law overreaches authority.

Attorney General Holder and advocacy groups assert that the
law could disenfranchise thousands of registered voters — particularly Latinos,
who are one in five registered voters in Texas.

By Lindsey Ruta, News21

J. Morgan Kousser: The Voting Rights Act and Hispanic Voters

Posted on by

UPDATE: 07/10 — J. Morgan Kousser testified today in the Federal Appeals Court hearing. Lawyers for both sides came to a last-minute agreement on witness lists.

The Voting Rights Act faces a sustained legal challenge that could threaten its existence, a Cal Tech researcher says, and there are striking similarities – with a notable demographic difference – to historic voting rights battles.

“After the initial passage of the Voting Rights Act, there was a huge attempt to inhibit the growth of political participation,” J. Morgan Kousser, a professor of history and social science at the California Institute of Technology, said of the 1965 law.

“But today, what we see is more than anything a reaction to the growing Latino population and a reaction to Latino growth in places where it really hasn’t been before.”

States such as Iowa, North Carolina, Ohio, Georgia and Virginia fit that profile, Kousser said. He planned to testify in the scheduled federal court hearing on the constitutionality of the new Texas voter ID law, but the state’s legal team successfully petitioned last week to deny his testimony calling it opinionated and tangential.

If the U.S. Supreme Court takes up a case challenging all or parts of the Voting Rights Act in its next term, Kousser said it is possible that the entire law could be ruled unconstitutional, opening the door to a new series of election laws.

“Suppose you made everybody re-register in a central location in a limited amount of time, and did not make that registration permanent,” Kousser said. “Nobody’s proposed this yet, but we had the umbrella of the Voting Rights Act protecting against such things.”

By Nick Andersen, News21

Juan Rosa: Living the American Dream at the ballot box

Posted on by
Juan Rosa: Living the American Dream at the ballot box

Juan Rosa immigrated to the United States from El Salvador and voted for the first time in 2002. Photo by Lizzie Chen/News21.

Juan Rosa, 45, of Del Valle, Texas, is the healthy living coordinator at El Buen Samaritano Episcopal Mission.

Rosa escaped the Salvadoran Civil War and immigrated to California to live what he called the American Dream. Part of that dream includes the right to vote, and Rosa believes it is important to have his voice heard.

“As soon as I got my citizenship, I made plans to go vote, and I did. I was so proud. It was something amazing,” Rosa said of his voting in 2002. “I still have the little sticker that said “I voted” and I’m proud of it.”

Many Latino advocacy groups in Texas argue the state’s voter ID law will hamper legal access to the ballot for Latino voters like Rosa, but he understands the need for a photo ID law, he said.

“I think there are always pros and cons when things like that come up. I see the pro because it may take sometime to get used to it, but Im pretty sure that it will save some problems that I’ve seen in the past or heard about in the past with people and voting when they are not supposed to,” Rosa said.

“We have to be all for changes, and I think this is a good one. I think it’s just an extra step they are taking to be safe on the voting side,” he said.

By Lizzie Chen, News21

Latinos represent millions
of untapped voters

Posted on by

Amid elections and voter ID legislation in states such as Texas and Arizona, “the Latino vote” has become a hot topic — and for good reason.

About 50,000 Latinos reach voting age every month, according to a
study by the Pew Research Center. That’s 600,000 voting eligible Latinos a year — a trend that is expected to continue for the next two decades.

By July 2050, the Hispanic population will represent 30 percent of the nation’s population, according to Census projections.

Texas has the second highest Latino population in the nation after California,
according to Census data. The Lone Stare State also is preparing to defend its voter ID in federal court next week against opponents who argue the law disproportionately affects Hispanic voters.

In Texas, the number of unregistered Latinos — 2,154,600 — exceeds the margin that John McCain had over Barack Obama in the state — 950,695,
according to the Center for American Progress, a progressive think tank.

And this base of untapped voters would largely vote Democratic.

A study by the conservative public opinion group Resurgent Republic, indicates that 51 percent of Latinos are registered Democrats, 31 percent are registered Independents and 18 percent are Republican.

By Lindsey Ruta, News21

Texas: A quick look at the Hispanic population

Posted on by

A history of discrimination toward African Americans in Texas prompted the federal government in 1975 to add the state to those whose election laws are monitored. Now the prospect of a new voter ID law in Texas has the U.S. Department of Justice focusing on the Hispanic population there.

In Texas, 38 percent of the population is Hispanic, according to the 2010 Census, compared to 11.8 percent African Americans. In Webb County, just north of the Mexican border near Laredo, 96 percent of county is Hispanic, the largest Hispanic population for a U.S. county.

Members of the League of United Latin American Citizens and the Southwest Voter Registration Education Project contend that the voter ID law would disenfranchise members of this growing minority who are unable to obtain the necessary documents to obtain a government-issued photo ID. Texas Republican state senators who support the proposal reject that assertion.

Take a look at the percent of Hispanic residents in Texas’s 10 most populous counties, according to the most recent Census:

 

Texas: A quick look at the Hispanic population

By Annelise Russell, News21

Texas: Voter registration
by the numbers

Posted on by

Within three weeks, the U.S. District Court is scheduled to hear testimony in Washington, D.C., from the Department of Justice and Texas in the state’s appeal for federal approval of its voter ID law.

Texas officials assert that the law, which would require a photo ID at the polls, does not deny persons the right to vote. Opponents of the ID requirement, such as the Mexican American Legal Education and Defense Fund and the NAACP, argue that the law has the potential to disenfranchise thousands of low-income, elderly, student and minority voters.

Texas is the second-most populous state after California, and has almost 7.5 million registered voters in just the 10 counties with the highest number of registered voters.

How many people is that?  That’s more than 13 times the entire population of Wyoming, according to Census data.

Take a look at the 10 Texas counties with the highest number of registered voters:

Texas: Voter registration <br>by the numbers

Source: Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott

 

By Annelise Russell, News21

Rosey Ruiz: Exercising the right to vote after time served

Posted on by
Rosey Ruiz: Exercising the right to vote after time served

Rosey Ruiz of Houston, Texas, is the founder of a nonprofit organization that helps men who have been in prison. Photo by Lizzie Chen/News21

Rosey Ruiz of Houston, Texas, is the founder of Aspire to Win, a nonprofit that helps men who have been in prison for 10 years or more.

Ruiz draws from her own experience; she was sent to prison on felony convictions in 1985 and released in 1994. Ruiz said she is fortunate to live in a state where voting rights are restored to those who complete parole.

“Voting is very, very important, of course you lose your right to vote once you get a felony, but our right to vote is so important,” Ruiz said. “As soon as I got off paper, immediately, on the first day, I went down and registered to vote so that my voice can be heard. I feel like I have a choice today and that means a lot to me, and I have a say so on who can be put in office.”

By Lizzie Chen, News21

Lydia Camarillo: Misconceptions about the undocumented voter

Posted on by

One argument for requiring a government-issued photo ID at the polls is to prevent illegal immigrants from voting. But Lydia Camarillo, vice president of the San Antonio, Texas-based Southwest Voter Registration Education Project, said the issue is largely irrelevant. The organization aims to increase the participation of Latinos and other minorities in the democratic process.

“Latinos who are undocumented, clearly understand that if they sign anything that is an affidavit, and they are lying to the government, they not only are at risk of being separated and deported but also in the future … they want to be able to come out of the shadows without any other marks than they came to this country trying to feed their families,” Camarillo said.

Undocumented workers are not going to put a family in jeopardy just to change the political game in Texas, Camarillo said, so the presumption that undocumented Latinos are registering en masse is wrong.

By Annelise Russell, News21

Texas primary: De La Fuenta campaign comes to a close

Posted on by

Supporters gathered at Juan in a Million in Austin on Tuesday night to celebrate 167th District Judge candidate, Efrain De La Fuenta. De La Fuenta lost to David Wahlberg, who won with 56 percent of the vote. Despite his loss, De La Fuenta was optimistic and thanked his supporters. – By Lizzie Chen, News21

Texas primary: De La Fuenta campaign comes to a close

Judge Efrain De La Fuenta talks to a group of campaign supporters Tuesday night at his primary watch party at Juan in a Million in Austin, Texas. De La Fuenta lost the Democratic 167th district court primary to David Walhberg. Photo by Lizzie Chen/News21

Texas primary: De La Fuenta campaign comes to a close

Voters in Austin gathered at Juan in a Million to show support for candidate Efrain De La Fuenta. While eating tacos and queso, they watched as the election results rolled in. Photo by Lizzie Chen/News21

Texas primary: De La Fuenta campaign comes to a close

Voters, including members of Efrain De La Fuenta's family, drove to Austin, Texas, to show support for De La Fuenta's campaign. Photo by Lizzie Chen/News21