How Texas’ War On Voting Will Undercut Legal Immigrants And People With Disabilities

[Galraedia]

New restrictions on voting rights this year aren’t confined to photo ID requirements at the polls. In a number of states, the hydra-headed war on voting is targeting people who want to help register others to vote as well.

Nowhere is this more true than the state of Texas. In a bill deemed by the Gov. Rick Perry (R) to be “emergency legislation,” the Texas legislature altered the state’s election law to not only require photo ID at the ballot box, but also place major new restrictions on groups and individuals conducting voter registration drives.

The new law – which is currently pending review by the Justice Department to determine if it satisfies Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act – forbids anyone from becoming a volunteer deputy registrar and helping register others to vote if that person is not an eligible Texas voter himself.


Read more: http://thinkprogress.org/justice/2011/11/18/368366/texas-voter-registration-restrictions/


Yee-haw?

[sonias]

1. It's always been about voter suppression with the republicans

They don't care if anyone gets to vote. They want to choose their voters and not have voters actually choose who represents them. People with disabilities, legal immigrants, women with hyphenated names (recently married women too), the poor, students that move a lot or anyone who may vote Democratic is a big target for the Rs.

Luis Figueroa (MALDEF staff attorney) in the video is one of the hardest working people in the Lege fighting these horrible laws. He's always been a champion for Latino/Hispanic voters. And Jessica Gomez came on very strong this past session working for disability rights. She hit the ground running her very first session. Both excellent advocates.

We were so outnumbered in this last session that any opposition we had to these horrible laws fell on deaf ears. The super majority Texas Rs rammed them through anyway.

Bastards! :mad: