GOP Attorneys Gen'l: Voting Rights Act Should Be Struck Down To Boost Laws Suppressing Minority Vote

[kpete]

Source: Think Progress

GOP Attorneys General: Voting Rights Act Should Be Struck Down To Boost Laws Suppressing Minority Vote

By Ian Millhiser on Aug 24, 2012 at 11:20 am


The Republican attorneys general of Alabama, Arizona, Georgia, South Carolina, North Dakota and Texas filed an amicus brief in the Supreme Court arguing that a key provision of the Voting Rights Act is unconstitutional. Significantly, the brief points to the fact that the Voting Rights Act impedes laws intended to make it more difficult for racial minorities to cast a ballot as a reason why Court should cast a skeptical gaze on the landmark voting rights law responsible for breaking the back of Jim Crow:


South Carolina and Texas, both Covered Jurisdictions, have not yet been permitted to enforce their voter-identification requirements, despite the fact that these laws are similar to the Indiana law upheld in Crawford. The DOJ denied preclearance for South Carolina’s voter-identification law. South Carolina has filed a declaratory judgment action, seeking reconsideration of DOJ’s preclearance denial. Trial begins on August 27, 2012.

Texas, like South Carolina, requested DOJ’s preclearance. Despite Texas’s responses to DOJ’s repeated requests for more information, DOJ still had not provided a preclearance decision six months after the State’s initial submission. By then, DOJ had rejected South Carolina’s similar law and, facing a likely similar rejection, Texas opted to file a declaratory judgment seeking preclearance. The DOJ eventually rejected Texas’s request for administrative preclearance nearly seven months after the initial submission. Trial was held from July 10 through 13, 2012, and Texas is awaiting a preclearance decision from the district court – more than a year after its legislature enacted the voter identification law.

Read more: http://thinkprogress.org/justice/2012/08/24/740401/gop-attorneys-general-voting-rights-act-should-be-struck-down-to-boost-laws-suppressing-minority-vote/

[Hugabear]

1. "How do you expect us to keep these people in line when you go and give them rights?"

I think that pretty much sums up their argument.

[lastlib]

12. Nails it!!

On the head!

[Panasonic]

2. Both of them are a disgrace to their profession

A repeated complaints to their respective ABA should summon the state AG and remind them that if they lose their license to practice, then they cannot be state AG's.

[heaven05]

3. ALL THIS BECAUSE

a black man is PRESIDENT. The fact that Robme, aynryan, rove, palin(oh I still remember the crowds at her campaign event with guns saying shoot Obama) have stirred up the nest of racist vipers speaks to the ignorance, yes decadence, of these states ATTORNEYS GENERAL. And these are white men with clout saying take the vote away from minorities.. Keep stirring fools, all shall reap what they sow. I am also glad that this black PRESIDENT has brought all the scum out from around the toilets and from under the rocks so the whole world can see what a shit sick country this is.

[madrchsod]

5. like the aynryan...

i just got back from the eye doctor and thought it read aryanryan

[heaven05]

8. fits

that description also fits him

[xtraxritical]

4. Where did the USA go? Where is it gone to? What is this place?

[otohara]

6. Mother Fuckers

including the one in CO - who is a little shit fuck asshole

[sinkingfeeling]

7. Sickening.

[summerschild]

9. Anybody surprised?

[DallasNE]

10. Strange

Why are Arizona and North Dakota filing? They are not required to get preclearance so they don't even have a dog in this hunt. As for the Four States that are covered it seems that the proper route would be to have Congress either repeal the Voting Rights Act or write a new one. Obviously that is not going to happen so these States are looking to this highly partisan Supreme Court to do their legislating for them. Even then it is hard to see how the Supreme Court could strike down this law without also striking down portions of the unanimous Brown v. Board of Education and even altering the 14th Amendments provision on equal protection.

So, no, I don't believe the true purpose of this is an expectation that they will have a Supreme Court decision prior to November's election. Rather, this is another blast on the dog whistle by Romney and other Republicans intended to impact this election. Why race is the only issue that matters to Republicans is beyond comprehension.

[wordpix]

11. "Why race is the only issue that matters to Republicans is beyond comprehension"--easy, it's because

they see they're going to lose this election and they're calling for every Stone Age racist to come out from their caves and vote. Plus, they're taking the issue to the courts to get the Voting Rights Act overturned and take us back to the bad old days of Jim Crow.

The Republics are a white, old rich man party and can only go so far with their money. They need the votes and legislation to back them up, too.

[DallasNE]

14. Romney Gave Another Hard Blow On That Dog Whistle Today

With his "joke" about nobody asking him for his birth certificate, reminding those white voters that he looks like them but Obama doesn't.

[Jim Braun]

13. RWNJ

The GOP was once an honorable association of conservative minded democratic individuals. It has degenerated into a Party of NJ's and frankly they are starting to scare the hell out of me. I now have a slight understanding of what happened in Germany 75 years ago. Never realized so many Americans were so crazy.