Posted by AzBlueMeanie:
Well, that didn't take long. Demonstrating just how wrong the Supreme Court was in Shelby County, the state of Texas, a covered jurisdiction with a long and sordid history of minority voter suppression, took the court's opinion as a green-light to engage in unbridled voter suppression.
The National Journal reports, That Was Quick: Texas Moves Forward With Voter ID Law After Supreme Court Ruling:
Just hours after the Supreme Court handed down a ruling
that guts parts of the Voting Rights Act, Texas is moving forward with a
controversial voter ID law that state Attorney General Greg Abbott
hopes to implement right away.
"With today's decision, the state's voter ID law will take effect immediately," Abbott said in a statement to the Dallas Morning News. "Redistricting maps passed by the Legislature may also take effect without approval from the federal government."
The Texas law requires voters to show photo identification to vote—a
measure that was blocked by the Justice Department, arguing the law
could discriminate against racial minorities. At the time, Attorney
General Eric Holder called the law a "poll tax."
* * *
Although the Justice Department still maintains the right to approve
voting-rights laws in counties that have historically implemented
discriminatory laws against minorities, Congress now needs to determine
those areas.
Wait, where's Arizona Attorney General Tom "banned for life by the SEC" Horne bragging about the court's decision? Ah, here he is:
“People can still bring lawsuits under Section 2 for any
alleged discrimination. But the huge and expensive administrative burden
of pre-clearance, which humiliates Arizona by making it say 'Mother may I' to
the Federal Government every time it wants to change some remarkably minor laws, has been eliminated."
Actually, Section 5 pre-clearance is way cheaper than Section 2 litigation, but the import of this Tenther's statement is the state's rights nonsense.
Which brings us to our nativist Governor, Jan Brewer:
“Today’s ruling provides relief
for the State of Arizona. Even if Congress enacts a new statute, it is
unlikely Arizona would be mandated to continue to seek federal approval for
even the most routine changes to our election procedures. Simply put, decisions that affect states should be left to
states. I am grateful to the High Court for ruling on the side of sovereignty
and federal restraint.”
Yet another state's rights Tenther.
And finally, the woman who wants to be elected Secretary of State next year to oversee voting in Arizona, Sen. Michele Reagan (R-Scottsdale):
Chairwoman of the Senate Elections Committee
"Good riddance "pre-clearance". #SCOTUS decision today a huge win for #StatesRights!!"
I don't know, Chief Justice Roberts, all this "state's rights" code sure sounds like 1965 to me — I was there, and I remember. Nothing has changed. The Supreme Court just green-lighted the GOP War on Voting.
h/t The Arizona Republic
UPDATE: Other Tea-Publican controlled states (covered jurisdictions under the Voting Rights Act) are following the lead of Texas in pursuing voter suppression efforts.
North Carolina Republican Says Voter ID Bill Will Now Move Ahead.
Mississippi Moving Ahead With Voter ID, Too.
Alabama photo voter ID law to be used in 2014, state officials say.