The Texas Tribune points out that DOJ is asking Texas to break up the state by race, knowing full well that they cannot answer the question. “Doubts are being raised as to whether the state’s controversial voter identification bill will be implemented on schedule because Texas does not ask its citizens their race when they register to vote”
“The Justice Department seeks details about the 605,576 registered voters who do not currently possess a valid ID, including how many have Spanish surnames, which counties they reside in and an estimated breakdown by race. The Justice Department also requests that the state provide the same breakdown for the registered voters who currently possess a valid form of identification, or one that has expired within 60 days. The department requested the information to determine if SB 14 will “have neither the purpose nor will have the effect of denying or abridging the right to vote on account of race, color, or membership in a language minority group.”
The Texas Secretary of State’s office says it is working diligently to fulfill the department’s request, which also includes providing details about the state’s voter education program, but it says it cannot provide the racial breakdown as requested.” We will not be able to provide race, since voters are not asked to provide race when registering to vote in Texas,” said Richard Parsons, the secretary’s communications director.
The Department of Justice declined to comment when asked what the repercussions could be if the state did not fulfill the request. It would only say it has an additional 60 days to render a decision once the state resubmits its request. Attorneys for the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund, which alleges the bill will infringe on minority groups’ voting rights, said failure to provide the information may likely delay the bill’s implementation.
You can already smell a rat as DOJ is setting up a straw man in the Texas voter ID analysis. DOJ is trying to require evidence they know doesn’t exist and which has little relevance to the ultimate question. DOJ is laughing in the halls as Texas toils up the hill as Sisyphus, trying to do all the right things the Supreme Court pointed out in Crawford. And despite instituting measures that mitigate any burdens beyond even those identified in Crawford, it won’t be enough. The AAG for Civil Rights Perez will sign the letter stating that Texas was simply unable to meet its burden in proving to Voting Section bureaucrats that there is any retrogression or intentional discrimination towards minority voters. There will be no daylight between DOJ and MALDEF and the list of voting rights groups.
One question for Texas leaders, do you really think the Federal courts will require such racialist evidentiary requirements with Spanish Surname analysis and imaginary burdens set up by the Voting Section. Do you think you will run into the same resistance with the Crawford decision and Judge Roberts reflections on “this sordid business, this divvying us up by race.” Going to court is sometimes the long slog but the only way to find justice.