Texas will likely argue that the three-judge federal panel failed to give the appropriate legal deference to the plan adopted by the Texas legislature.  With the dramatic changes found in the panel’s interim map, they will argue that there will be irreparable damage to the large number of incumbents that the court improperly combined into districts or drew out of existence based on their misunderstanding of the law to permit the drawing of opportunity, cross-over, or coalition minority districts.  Those influence districts (by another name) will certainly draw the negative scrutiny of the Supreme Court.  Because the plaintiff’s may argue that the interim maps would serve as the baseline for any subsequent retrogression analysis, these dramatic interim lines would cause irreparable impact on the final lines. The full article can be found here: 

Texas House Speaker Straus’ statement:

More on the Section 2 lawsuit I filed today along with the Center for Individual Rights at the PJ Media Rule of Law blog.

Pacific Daily News has more.

“Washington, DC – The Center for Individual Rights filed suit today against Guam, the Guam Election Commission and seven named Guam officials for discrimination on the basis of race and ethnic heritage under Guamanian laws that prohibit individuals who are not “native inhabitants of Guam” from voting on a plebiscite concerning Guam’s future relationship to the United States. “

Here is the filed complaint.

At the link, Sheriff deputies are accused of voting in the St. Bernard Parish Sheriff race despite living in neighboring counties.  The scandal is coming to a head.
 
The St. Bernard Parish Board of Election Supervisors is still awaiting an opinion from the state’s attorney general on whether to throw out any votes in Saturday’s election.

Sheriff candidate Wayne Landry said Tuesday that his campaign challenged 1,300 voters. That turned into 700 Thursday, and now the official count from the St. Bernard Registrar of Voters stands at 598.

“An overwhelming number of challenges made did not have evidence attached to the challenges,” said Election Supervisor Mike Bayham. “It’s for the 55 that did have evidence attached, that’s where the attorney general’s opinions will be relevant.”

Mississippi Secretary of State Delbert Hosemann said he wants to include opponents of voter identification as state officials work to implement Initiative 27, the state constitutional amendment passed last week calling for Mississippians to present photo identification before voting.  “My goals would not be to have people on the sidelines of the field waiting for someone to fumble the ball,” he said. “Help me implement it.” 

The response?  Opponents say they’re willing to talk, but they’re also planning to seek federal rejection of the amendment, which 62 percent of voters favored Nov. 8. “We expect to be involved in opposing the law,” said Nancy Abudu, a lawyer with the Voting Rights Project of the American Civil Liberties Union. Her arm of the ACLU has filed detailed letters questioning both the basis and the plans for implementing voter ID in South Carolina and Texas. The Justice Department is supposed to approve or reject both in December. Those are the first states that have sought preclearance for voter ID since President Barack Obama took office

No matter that Mississippi just passed a constitutional amendment (not merely a law), but it appears that the perceived grown-ups in Mississippi seem on the cusp of actually submitting the constitutional amendment to the Obama DOJ for a thumbs up or down. Expect a frustrating and humilitating experience. While the Supreme Court has upheld strict voter photo ID laws and the Clinton/Bush Departments have occasionally approved photo ID laws in other southern states such as Florida and Georgia, the Obama ideologues have yet to approve any voter ID law.  And they certainly do not seem willing to approve any similar voter ID laws in South Carolina or Texas.  Does Mississippi expect any better treatment? 

Memo to Mississippi Governor and Attorney General:  You are talking about an amendment to your state constitution and your state actually plans to submit the amendment to the rigged Section 5 process at the Justice Department.  Such an important addition to the state constitution should be reviewed by the federal courts who will certainly give Mississippi and the newly approved Voter ID amendment much greater deference than the Obama ideologues ever would.  It is one thing for a federal court to take such a dramatic step to stop a constitutional amendment, and do you really want some faceless bureaucrat telling Mississippi that this overwhelming-approved constitutional amendment doesn’t quite meet muster with their interpretation of discrimination. 

@ the link.

At the link,  Cesar Munoz watched Iraqi voters stream into the Baghdad polling place from early morning until the evening. At times the line stretched for blocks. Armed soldiers such as Munoz secured the building, and others surrounded the perimeter.

About two thirds of eligible voters turned out in March 2010 to elect a new Parliament, despite bombs exploding in parts of the country in insurgent efforts to keep the electorate from the polls.

Story here:

SANTA FE (KRQE) – More than 100 noncitizens may have registered to vote over the last eight years, and of those 19 may have actually cast ballots, according to a report released Thursday by the Secretary of State’s office.

Full story here. New York is refusing to provide 45 days to overseas and military voters, instead allowing only 32 days for mail delivery of ballots to overseas locations and return to the U.S.  With DOD denying the waiver request, the hope is that now the Federal Court in the Northern District of New York will require the state to follow the law for voters in the 2012 election cycle.

The story provides the summary below from the New York State Board of Elections:

Full story here: