RECENT FLORIDA AND ARIZONA CHALLENGES TO LONG-STANDING VOTING RIGHTS ACT PROVIDE ADDITIONAL AREAS OF CONCERN FOR LATINO VOTE

The States of Florida and Arizona have filed challenges to the Voting Rights Act (VRA) in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia. Section 5 of the VRA, described by the Supreme Court as “remed(ying) aimed at areas where voting discrimination has been most flagrant,” helps protect the right to vote in places where, historically, this right has been most threatened. The VRA provides for federal oversight of any changes to rules and procedures affecting voting, including redistricting maps, in specified jurisdictions.

Election Reform Advocates Call on Texas Legislators to Abandon Controversial, Restrictive Voter Identification Proposals

AUSTIN, TX – The Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund (MALDEF) and a coalition of voting rights groups including Advocacy Inc, the ACLU of Texas, APIAVote, Asian American Action Fund, Asian American Justice Center, the Coalition of Texans with Disabilities, Common Cause Texas, League of Women Voters of Texas, OCA Greater Houston Chapter, People For the American Way, Southwest Voter Registration Education Project, Texans Together Education Fund, Texas AFL-CIO, Texas LULAC (HOPE), Texas NAACP, and the William C. Velasquez Institute called on the Texas Legislature to abandon the controversial voter identification policy proposal that resulted in a partisan stalemate during the 2009 Texas Legislative session.