Voting rights group files suit over Texas registration practices

[Redstate Bluegirl]

http://www.chron.com/news/houston-texas/article/Voting-rights-group-files-suit-over-Texas-3313076.php

The nonprofit Voting for America filed a federal lawsuit Monday alleging Texas voter rolls have been actively suppressed by excessive restrictions on volunteers who conduct registration drives, aggressive purges of county voter rolls and poll workers who improperly requested identification from voters.

"A developing body of state practices and provisions targeted at voter registration activities is endangering the rights of many Texas voters," the lawsuit alleges.

The group, affiliated with the Washington D.C.-based Project Vote, runs nonpartisan voter registration drives nationwide and has previously mounted legal challenges to state voter registration procedures in Missouri, Ohio, Indiana and New Mexico, among other states.

The latest lawsuit filed in the Southern District of Texas courts names Texas Secretary of State Hope Andrade and takes aim at the state's new mandatory training for all volunteer registrars - in which almost anyone who handles a voter's application as part of a registration drive has to complete training before he or she can be "deputized" to operate in any Texas county. A spokesman for Andrade refused comment.





Like my signature says...

[TexasTowelie]

1. Cross-posted in the Texas Group.

Thank you for bringing this news forward.

[Redstate Bluegirl]

3. No problem

It is my home state now, after all lol

[northoftheborder]

2. Thanks for this info. I used to work with registering voters, did not know of new rules.

When I called about registering to vote in my new location, I was given inaccurate information about the ID necessary when voting. (existing still, since new rules are in court) This is in Texas.

[rainbow4321]

4. I can probably tell you what this stems from in Texas

In 2008, leading up to the election, there was a HUGE grassroots movement that had lots and lots of Pres Obama supporters (including myself) signed up as volunteer registrars who put in a shitload of hours at register to vote booths. The voter registration booths were EVERYwhere. Every local event (balloonfests, festivals that celebrated diversity/internationalfests..you name it) had a booth. We would set up outside 7-11's, grocery stores, department stores. And it was all under the "you must present as non-partisan" restrictions that come with voter registration sign up.
But we knew...and local repukes knew. It was not republicans who were excitedly lined up at our tables. It was not McCain and Palin who were drawing people to register to vote. People were flocking to these voter registration tables for Obama.
There were times where we were stalked by repukes (yes, that polo shirt with the Sarah Palin emblem was a giveaway!) who would stand a few feet away and glare at us, waiting for any slip up on our part in the non-partisan law. The longer they had to stand there, the more pissed they got, because we all KNEW that that is what the repukes wanted..to shut us down.

The evil looks we got from passerbys all gave away who the repukes were.

So now, 4 years later, it is no surprise that they are putting extra restrictions on who can sign up people to vote. Yeah, Texas isn't going to go blue, BUT think of all the local repukes who are threatened by another huge Dem turnout. Downticket repukes saw in 2008 what happened down here and they are trying to squash it from happening again.