Page 38 - Preclearance News Today

Authority over states with a deep history of racial discrimination. so what is the part that the department of justice is invoking now in order to try to put texas back under extra scrutiny? >> theres a provision in the voting rights act, section 3-c, which provides where jurisdictions have intentionally discriminated in one aspect, particularly in voting, those jurisdictions can be subject to submitting their voting changes for preclearance or preapproval to the department of justice or to a th...

People who dont have the kind of i.d. that the legislature would require are african-american. 25% are senior citizens. and so, you know, these are -- these are definitely ways that would decrease participation of the most deserving people and, again, here in america, the ballot box is where we are all supposed to be equal. we are supposed to have equal access to the rights to vote no matter what our income or our race. >> turning quickly to holders announcement that the department of justice wi...

Rights act, itself, the part the supreme court invalidated was a part that gave the department of justice or the federal government, rather, a kind of authority over states with a deep history of racial discrimination. so what is the part that the department of justice is invoking now in order to try to put texas back under extra scrutiny? >> theres a provision in the voting rights act, section 3-c, which provides where jurisdictions have intentionally discriminated in one aspect, particularly i...

I have a theory or two why republicans might want to restrict the franchise for the people you named. congressman marc veasey of texas. thank you for joining us. joining me at the table, julie fernandes. now a senior policy analyst with the open society institute. i did not know what section three of the voting rights act was until today. i consider myself a little bit of a voting rights act buff. what is section 3? what is the federal government doing here? why do they have the authority to do ...

Justice or the federal government, rather, a kind of authority over states with a deep history of racial discrimination. so what is the part that the department of justice is invoking now in order to try to put texas back under extra scrutiny? >> theres a provision in the voting rights act, section 3-c, which provides where jurisdictions have intentionally discriminated in one aspect, particularly in voting, those jurisdictions can be subject to submitting their voting changes for preclearance o...

They can come up with some sort of plan that might at least move them in an incremental manner. >> all right. thanks. the battle lines over voting rights are drawn. texas governor rick perry is lashing out at the obama administration after attorney general eric holder announced that he will pursue legal action against the lonestar state. holder wants to require federal approval for any changes to voting laws in texas as well as other states with a history of discrimination. now, governor perry...

Private parties use this section 3 of the voting rights act to stop that law in north carolina as well or any laws wherever they might be across the country? >> i think the question that congress is going to have to look at, because congress is right now looking at whether or not the tools that are left in the voting rights act after shelby county are enough to protect minority voters. and what theyre going to have to look at is whether or not 3-c is a realistic mechanism, the way its currently ...

And that program of preclearance under section 3c needs to be implemented through litigation. and so groups like ours, the advancement project and many voting rights lawyers and the department of justice are looking at doing these types of actions in other states and i hope the d.o.j. takes a closer look at other states that have ongoing discrimination through voter i.d. laws and similar forms of modern day poll taxes and literacy tests. >> this is a battle has is just beginning. kathy gonzalez,...

Issues. >> absolutely. . political incentives for the republican party are all on the side of restricting voting rights because all of the emergent groups of voters, whether hispanic voters, young voters, women, african-americ s african-americans, minorities, are all trending to the other party. in states like ohio, all of those purple states where barack obama won, all the political incentives to them say restrict voting rights. i think whats great here is attorney general holder is doing exact...

General holder is bringing forward a bail in. over 200 jurisdictions have bailed out. so it is not a punitive initiative. it is to protect the right to vote. general holder is on solid ground. i think he has indicated hes in an emergency. hes got a crisis. and when there is a crisis, when there is a disaster, then congress steps in to provide -- i hope -- guided, thoughtful legislation that will fix the problem and put back in place the enforcement provisions of the voting rights act which will ...