Obama administration asks court to restore Voting Rights Act limits on Texas

Last month the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that states with a history of racial discrimination no longer had to clear changes in voting laws and procedures with the federal government. But on Thursday the Obama administration asked a court to restore the Voting Rights Act requirement for Texas, for discriminating against Hispanics and African Americans when drawing district lines. (Getty Images photo by Win McNamee: Supporters of the act last month outside the Supreme Court)

The Obama administration's move relies on a different part of the law, "which allows the federal government to get to largely the same place by a different route, called 'bail-in.' If the department can show that given jurisdictions have committed constitutional violations, federal courts may impose federal oversight on those places in a piecemeal fashion," Adam Liptak and Charlie Savage report for The New York Times.

Attorney General Eric Holder said in a speech to the Urban League, “If this strategy works, it will become a way of partially updating the Voting Rights Act through the courts. If this approach works, it will help update the Voting Rights Act even without Congressional action.”

Texas Gov Rick Perry said in a statement: “This end run around the Supreme Court undermines the will of the people of Texas, and casts unfair aspersions on our state’s common-sense efforts to preserve the integrity of our elections process. But state Rep. Trey Martinez Fischer (D-San Antonio), chairman of the Mexican-American Legislative Caucus, told the Times, “The fact that intervention in Texas is the Department of Justice’s first action to protect voting rights speaks volumes about the seriousness of Texas’ actions. Texans should be proud that the resources of the federal government will be brought to bear to protect the voting rights of all." (Read more)