On July 3, 2013 SCSJ represented the Texas NAACP, joined by other intervenors, in asking the three-judge panel in the Texas redistricting preclearance case for leave to amend their pleadings to add a bail-in claim under section 3 of the Voting Rights Act. If successful, this could cause the entire state of Texas to be put back under the preclearance review of the Voting Rights Act. This type of legal action has never been taken before, and SCSJ is proud to be a groundbreaking litigant fighting the effects of the Supreme Court’s decision in the Shelby County case.
As stated in today’s court documents, “The State of Texas is undoubtedly the prime example of why at least some pre-enforcement review under the Voting Rights Act is still necessary to vindicate the voting rights of minority citizens. Texas has engaged in persistent and intentional efforts to diminish the voting strength of voters of color, and to exclude them from the political process. If ever a jurisdiction was deserving of being affirmatively subjected to the preclearance requirement (being “bailed-in”) under Section 3(c) of the Act, Texas is that jurisdiction.”
Read more about SCSJ’s new voting rights motion below.
http://txredistricting.org/post/54527859011/bail-in-claim-for-texas-under-section-3-also-filed-in
The motion may be read here http://electionlawblog.org/wp-content/uploads/241-motion-sec-3redux.pdf
