Posted on 08/15/2012 1:15:40 AM PDT by Cincinatus' Wife
GALVESTON - A federal judge Tuesday refused to lift an order blocking enforcement of Texas laws that make voter registration drives difficult, but modified his order to allow counties to more easily track deputy voter registrars.
U.S. District Judge Gregg Costa refused a request by Secretary of State Hope Andrade that he stay a preliminary injunction issued Aug. 2 while the state appeals the ruling to the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. Galveston County Tax Assessor-Collector Cheryl Johnson is also a defendant.
Costa blocked enforcement of five provisions of Texas voter registration law in a lawsuit brought by two Galveston County residents and the nonprofit Voting for America, which claimed that Texas laws made it impossible to conduct voter registration drives. The preliminary injunction would remain in place until a trial to decide whether Texas laws violate the civil rights of the plaintiffs and the 1993 National Voter Registration Act.
Costa rejected the state's claim that chaos would ensue without enforcement of laws preventing deputy registrars from registering voters from other counties or mailing in completed voter registration forms. The state said the preliminary injunction would allow rogue registrars to roam through Texas improperly registering voters.
[snip]
The state Attorney General's office intends to appeal.
"Project Vote's lawsuit is nothing more than an ACORN spin-off's attack on the Legislature's efforts to ensure fair, orderly and legal elections," the agency said in an email Tuesday. "It's ironic that ACORN's successor is now challenging laws that were enacted in response to widespread voter fraud by ACORN and its voter outreach arm, Project Vote."
(Excerpt) Read more at chron.com ...
August 11, 2012 - Ruling on voter law expected next week - "GALVESTON — A federal judge is expected to rule by early next week whether Texas can resume enforcing what some call the most strict, burdensome and punitive body of voter registration law in the nation.
The uncertainty arises after lawyers from the Texas Attorney General’s Office, who are representing Texas Secretary of State Hope Andrade, on Wednesday asked U.S. District Court Judge Gregg Costa to suspend a temporary injunction against enforcing several provisions of the state election code governing voter registration drives.
If Costa grants the stay, the state can resume enforcing the law while it appeals the injunction to the U.S. Fifth Circuit Court.
Costa, who presides over the Galveston Division of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas, granted the injunction Aug. 2 after two days of testimony in June.
At that June 12-13 hearing, county residents and a voting rights group argued the election code made large-scale voter registration drives practically impossible and has made even some longtime community volunteers reluctant to collect applications for fear of being prosecuted for minor lapses or errors."............
Could someone please tell me what is so burdomsome about Texas registration law?
It’s not burdensome.
The Project Vote people just want it less transparent — more easily massaged.
The same thing happened to the case in PA regarding ID checks for voting. I think maybe it’s going to be a little bit harder for the Democrats to get away with their favorite vote-getting device, massive voter fraud, than in 2008.
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