Author Archives: ELECTIONLAWCENTER.COM

Georgia is latest state to go to Court on preclearance of plans and challenge Section 5

Georgia, Florida and Alabama.

The state of Georgia and its voters are being subjected to the continued extraordinary intrusion into its constitutional sovereignty through Section 5 and its outdated preclearance formula based upon discriminatory conditions that existed more than 47 years ago but have long since been remedied,” the state says in its filing.

Attorney General Sam Olens said the state’s argument against the Voting Rights Act is simple: “we’re no longer in 1964, there’s no longer poll taxes, there’s no longer cases where less than 50 percent of the minority population is voting.” Of Georgia’s 5.7 million registered voters about one-third are minorities.

Georgia may want to add this footnote.  The President and the current leader for the Republican nomination are both black Americans. 

Imagine arguing the constitutionality of Section 5 with Obama, Biden v. Cain, Rubio race as the backdrop.  Perhaps Justice Thomas would get the nod from the rest of the court. 

Did the Washington Post suggest alliances between Blacks and GOP is Evil

This is the headline:  Race and redistricting: Unholy alliance starting to fray and the first paragraph of a recent article in the Washington Post: 

Since the 1990s, black Democrats and Republicans have been in an “unholy alliance” when it comes to redistricting. While it still holds in some cases, that alliance may be ending as ma­nipu­la­tion of majority-minority districts threatens Democrats chances of retaking the House majority

To be fair, while the headline is probably the work of some idiot headline editor, the Post is actually quoting a white left-wing redistricting partisan Michael McDonald. 

In the 1990s, all of the [electoral] cases were favoring this unholy alliance,” said redistricting expert Michael McDonald. “ Those conditions have dramatically shifted. More often we’re finding situations where it’s not in the black community’s interest to side with Republicans.”

This characterization is quite offensive yet apparently reflective of what many white liberals think of any alliance or compromise between Blacks and Republicans who may engage in the supposed horse-trading of negotiating political lines (yes, a compromise) that everyone claims to be utopia and that may actually increase black representation overall.  This begs the question, who or what is actually engaged in an unholy alliance?  

Tennessee seniors given options to cope with new voter ID law

At the link. 


According to Goins, the state of Tennessee is teaming up with the AARP to help protect the rights of the most vulnerable voters.


“There’s some misinformation out there, and there’s some correct information out there,” Goins said.


Goins answered questions and explained that even expired IDs will be accepted.


He said if you don’t bring a photo ID on election day you will be asked to vote on a provisional ballot.


“It’s important to get the word out now,” he added.


and this:

Goins said FREE state photo IDs will be issued to anyone including the homeless or those who cannot afford to purchase an ID, but those free IDs have one exception according to state law.


“It only allows free photo IDs for those who will use that photo ID to vote,” Goins said.


Wednesday night, another town hall meeting to discuss the affects of the new voter ID law will take place at the Board of Education at 6pm.

Milwaukee DA investigating out-of-state voting allegations, including by one “Occupy Milwaukee” protester

Out of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, this report:

The Milwaukee County DA’s office says they are looking into claims that allegedly three people voted illegally in the Spring 2011 elections, including an “Occupy Milwaukee” protester arrested outside a bank last week.

The conservative advocacy group “Media Trackers” claims that Austin Thompson and two other people used a Glendale hotel address to register and vote in Wisconsin.


Brian Sikma of Media Trackers told TODAY’S TMJ4’s Charles Benson, “The fundamental thing that we need to do is make sure that Wisconsin elections are being participated in by Wisconsin voters.”

Arizona Governor Brewer takes first step in removal of redistricting commissioners

AzCapitolTimes.com @ the link.  When a supposed non-partisan Commission provides a redistricting draft map that wholly favors Democrats in a state where all statewide offices are Republican and the Republican hold vast majorities in the legislature, this is the result.  

to the article:

Gov. Jan Brewer demanded answers from the Arizona Independent Redistricting Commission about a handful of alleged improprieties, the first step in the process for forcibly removing one or more of the commissioners.


Brewer today sent a letter to all five commissioners seeking a response to allegations that the IRC violated open meeting laws, public records laws and the constitutionally mandated criteria for redistricting. The letter comes as Republican lawmakers, conservative activists and others have been clamoring for a special session of the Legislature to remove IRC Chairwoman Colleen Mathis, who has been accused of colluding with the commission’s two Democrats.


The governor accused the commissioners of “substantial neglect of duty and gross misconduct in office,” repeating verbatim the provision in the Arizona Constitution that details the grounds for removing a commissioner from the panel. The removal of a commissioner requires the approval of the governor and two-thirds of the Senate.

“I am duty bound to ensure that Arizona’s redistricting process is constitutionally sound and worthy of the full faith and confidence of Arizona voters,” Brewer wrote. “The IRC has violated constitutional requirements.”

some of the specific concerns:

Brewer also submitted her official comments on the maps. In the separate letter, said the IRC did not respect communities of interest, did not create compact and contiguous districts, disregarded geographic and political boundaries, ignored the needs of rural Arizonans and elevated competitiveness above all other constitutional criteria.


She specifically objected to congressional districts that cut Yuma and Cochise counties in half, and referred to proposed Districts 1, 3 and 4 as “patently tortured and spliced.” District 9, which includes Tempe and the Arcadia, Biltmore and Ahwatukee Foothills areas of Phoenix, was drawn in violation of the IRC’s six constitutional criteria, she alleged.


“I have many concerns about the draft map. The concerns are so grave that I believe the IRC has not satisfied its constitutional duty requiring it to conduct this vital electoral activity in an honest, independent and impartial fashion that upholds the public confidence in the integrity of the redistricting process,” Brewer wrote.

Black Caucus threatens lawsuit challenging Tennessee Republican redistricting plans

At the link.  In Nashville, Black legislative leaders said Tuesday their caucus will file a lawsuit challenging Republican redistricting plans if they think the map, which is being drawn in secret, violates the federal Voting Rights Act.  Rep. G.A. Hardaway, chairman of the Legislature’s Black Caucus, called on Republicans to include caucus members in helping shape the plan that reapportions and redraws the 99 House and 33 Senate districts to reflect minority voters.

“We will sue if it’s not in compliance with the Voting Rights Act as the Black Caucus sees it,” Hardaway said.


In a statement, Republican House Speaker Beth Harwell, of Nashville, said it “is well established that one of the many criteria we use in developing redistricting concepts is compliance with the Voting Rights Act, and it would be disingenuous to suggest otherwise. … Our goal has always been to draw fair and legal lines and to get 99 votes in the House.”

and this:


Republicans have been showing individual Democrats, including black lawmakers, what will happen to them under the redistricting plan, but Hardaway say it is difficult to construct the entire “puzzle” from those pieces.