Texas voter ID fight returning to federal court

........TexasAttorneyGeneralGregAbbott argues that the state has a responsibility to guard against election fraud, and that its new law is not subject to Justice Department review under Section 5 of the 1965 Voting Rights Act. That provision, which has angered Southern conservatives for decades, requires jurisdictions with a historical pattern of discrimination to win federal "pre-clearance" from the JusticeDepartment or a federal court in Washington,D.C., before implementing changes in voting laws or political lines.

Southern states, led by Alabama, have argued that Section 5 is a violation of states' rights. Texas Republicans have charged that President BarackObama's Justice Department has manipulated its powers under the Voting Rights Act to benefit Democrats.

"Instead of attacking Texas for enforcing the law, the DepartmentofJustice should learn from the Lone Star State and focus its resources on protecting the integrity of the electoral system nationwide," said Republican U.S. Rep. Ted Poe, of Humble.

.....Thirty-one states require voters to show identification at the polls, including 15 that require photo ID. The U.S.SupremeCourt upheld the right of states to require identification cards in a 2008 Indiana case, but the JusticeDepartment has rebuffed laws in two states covered by the Voting Rights Act, Texas and South Carolina. New ID laws in Mississippi and Florida are awaiting Justice Department action.

.....The protracted legal battle over Texas' voter ID law resumes Monday at the federal courthouse in Washington. Adding to the heightened tension around the case is sharp conservative criticism of the Justice Department for using the data firm Catalist, a firm with strong Democratic ties, to analyze the impact of the ID law. Rep. Lamar Smith, R-San Antonio, chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, joined with Poe last week in a letter to AttorneyGeneral Eric Holder calling the use of a Democratic firm "unacceptable" and a "conflict of interest.".....

.... Adding to the heightened tension around the case is sharp conservative criticism of the Justice Department for using the data firm Catalist, a firm with strong Democratic ties, to analyze the impact of the ID law. Rep. Lamar Smith, R-San Antonio, chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, joined with Poe last week in a letter to AttorneyGeneral Eric Holder calling the use of a Democratic firm "unacceptable" and a "conflict of interest.".....

Catalist --- Mission - "To provide progressive organizations with the data and services needed to better identify, understand, and communicate with the people they need to persuade and mobilize."

Catalist - Our Values - "Catalist is committed to using our talents and technology to nurture a vibrant, growing, progressive community, and to working with that community towards a more just, equitable and tolerant America."

Catalist offers your progressive organization low-cost, subscription-based access to a unique, comprehensive database of voting-age Americans. Combining standard demographic and high-quality political information with commercial data will allow you to get your message, ideas and requests to either large groups or targeted individuals with unprecedented precision and effectiveness. We also offer the software tools and in-house expertise your organization will need to use this data effectively.

Our team of innovators brings a unique mix of talents to our effort: we have helped local and national progressive organizations and campaigns advance their missions; and have experience designing and building data systems that support some of the world’s most recognized commercial and scientific enterprises.

Catalist is transforming the way progressive organizations communicate through flexible and affordable subscription access to comprehensive, high quality data. We provide all of the essential elements your progressive organization needs to build a data-driven program."

Catalist LIBERAL client list.....

Rock the Vote, AFL-CIO and Sierra Club testimonials for Catalist

Who run's Catalist? Press Release — February 15th, 2012 - Statement on Chairman of the Board of Catalist Stepping Down Replaced by Co-Chairs Bauman and Podhorzer.

(Washington, DC)—Catalist, the premier data provider to the progressive movement, today announced that after seven years, founding Chairman of the Board, Albert Dwoskin, President and CEO of A.J. Dwoskin & Associates, is stepping down from the Board to focus his attention on his many other business and philanthropic endeavors. New co-chairs of the Board, Patricia Bauman, President of the Bauman Foundation, and Mike Podhorzer, Political Director of the AFL-CIO, will replace Dwoskin. Bauman and Podhorzer are current Board members. Dwoskin has led the board since the inception of Catalist in 2006.

Supreme Court upholds voter ID law (4/28/08) "The Supreme Court ruled that states can require voters to produce photo identification without violating their constitutional rights, validating Republican-inspired voter ID laws.

In a splintered 6-3 ruling, the court upheld Indiana’s strict photo ID requirement, which Democrats and civil rights groups said would deter poor, older and minority voters from casting ballots. Its backers said it was needed to prevent fraud.

It was the most important voting rights case since the Bush v. Gore dispute that sealed the 2000 election for George W. Bush. But the voter ID ruling lacked the conservative-liberal split that marked the 2000 case.

The law “is amply justified by the valid interest in protecting ‘the integrity and reliability of the electoral process,’” Justice John Paul Stevens said in an opinion that was joined by Chief Justice John Roberts and Anthony Kennedy. Stevens was a dissenter in Bush v. Gore in 2000.

Justices Samuel Alito, Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas also agreed with the outcome, but wrote separately.

Justices Stephen Breyer, Ruth Bader Ginsburg and David Souter dissented, just as they did in 2000."..................

As long as i have been registered to vote in Florida (1978), I have never been able to vote without a picture ID. Could the authors have assumed that none were in effect before the current wave of legislation?

Upon further investigation there are two classifications of Photo ID. One as strict and the other as not. I do know in my county, the voter registration laws are tied to the info on your Drivers License. I suppose that if you do not have or need a license, that some other accredited Photo ID will work but your ballot will be considered provisional and not counted until your ID is verified by the Supervisor of Elections office and that not more than one ballot for said person is submitted.

http://www.ncsl.org/legislatures-elections/elections/voter-id.aspx

Section 5 of the 1965 Voting Rights Act. That provision, which has angered Southern conservatives for decades

Blame the RINO douchebags who ran the GOP House in 2006, and George W. Bush, who passed a despicable 25 YEAR EXTENSION of this provision, and the entire obsolete Voting Rights Act, despite the efforts of Reps. Lynn Westmoreland and Steve King to delete the provision.

Look at the group of scumbags surrounding the idiot Bush in the photo below, as he signed this despicable act. Truly a profile in cowardice that defined his 2nd term, as the GOP was terrified of "looking racist" and still ended up losing the Congress that year. IDIOTS.

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