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| U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder (adapted from British Foreign and
Commonwealth Office Flickr photo) and Texas Gov. Rick Perry (adapted from photo by Jonathan Mallard) |
It's a battle on two fronts, necessitated by the Supreme Court's decision, last year, to nullify the pre-clearance formula sections of the Voting Rights Act, in Shelby County v. Holder. That left Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott free to pursue what is alleged to be targeted, minority voter disenfranchisement.
On Tuesday, the United States Department of Justice joins other plaintiffs, including Texas voters and candidates, in Veasey v. Perry, challenging the Lone Star State's quick-trigger, post-Shelby resumption of its previously struck voter ID law. Later this fall, DoJ will participate in another round of Perez v. Perry, the case which alleges the state's 2011 redistricting plan is discriminatory, giving Texas' rising Latino minority less representation in government than they are actually due.
A verdict for the plaintiffs in either case could allow Justice to place Texas back on the pre-clearance list for ten years, a "bail in" under Section 3 of the VRA, since, the DoJ maintains, it would demonstrate a persistent pattern of minority voter discrimination. It is their only recourse, since Congress won't act on a new pre-clearance formula.
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