Houston Elections Officials Urge DOJ To Protect the Vote in Texas

[L. Coyote]

https://www.democracydocket.com/alerts/houston-elections-officials-urge-doj-to-protect-the-vote-in-texas/

February 18, 2022

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Three elections officials from Harris County, Texas sent a letter to Attorney General Merrick Garland urging the Department of Justice (DOJ) to “exhaust every legal option available to ensure that each eligible voter in Harris County and the State of Texas has their vote counted” during the primary election that’s underway. Harris County, which contains the Houston metropolitan area, is the third most populous county in the United States. The letter was signed by Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo, Harris County Attorney Christian Menefee and Harris County Elections Administrator Isabel Longoria.

The letter specifically raised concerns around the alarmingly high number of mail-in applications and ballots flagged for rejections during the ongoing primary election in the state. The authors cite a few concerning statistics: As of Feb. 15, 41% of mail-in ballot applications have been flagged for rejection, compared to 6.6% during the 2018 primary election. In the same time period, 35.5% of mail-in ballots themselves have been flagged for rejection. Hidalgo, Menefee and Longoria attribute this heightened rate of rejection to Texas Senate Bill 1, a law passed last year which contains a host of restrictive voting provisions, namely a complicated new personal identification requirement to request a mail-in ballot. “SB 1 is therefore achieving exactly what its authors set out to do: erect more hurdles in front of the ballot box and systematically suppress the vote in Harris County,” the letter reads.

In calling for the DOJ to intervene, the authors conclude: “No action is too small to preserve our democracy.”

Read the letter here.

Link to tweet

Link to tweet

[Cha]

1. Rts TY! Who knew the Civil

War in the last part of the 1st decade, and the first part of the 2nd decade of the 21st Century, would be for VOTING RIGHTS & Democracy Against Fascism

Thank Goodness We Have Marc Elias!

[uponit7771]

2. Why isn't the DOJ all the fuck over what the J6r GQP is doing in regards to elections ?!

[L. Coyote]

4. Why do you seem to assert they are not?

The Voting Section enforces the civil provisions of the federal laws that protect the right to vote, including the Voting Rights Act, the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act, the National Voter Registration Act, the Help America Vote Act and the Civil Rights Acts.

Recent Activities of the Voting Section

On December 6, in United States v. Texas (W.D. Tex.), the Department filed a complaint under Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act challenging the State’s 2021 redistricting plans for the Texas congressional delegation and the Texas House of Representatives.

On December 1, 2021, in Florida State Conference of the NAACP v. Lee (N.D. Fla.), the Department filed a statement of interest under Sections 2 and 208 of the Voting Rights Act concerning Senate Bill 90.

On November 30, 2021, in Mi Familia Vota v. Hobbs (D. Ariz.), the Department filed a statement of interest under Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act concerning Senate Bills 1003 and 1485.

On November 30, 2021, in LULAC v. Abbott (W.D. Tex.), the Department filed a statement of interest under Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act concerning redistricting legislation for Texas.

On November 4, 2021, in United States v. State of Texas (W.D. Tex.), the Department filed a complaint alleging that certain provisions of Senate Bill 1 violated Section 208 of the Voting Rights Act and the Civil Rights Act of 1964, 52 U.S.C. 10101.

On November 4, 2021, in La Unión del Pueblo Entero v. Abbott, (W.D. Tex.), the Department filed a statement of interest under Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act concerning Senate Bill 1.

On September 1, 2021, the Department issued guidance under Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act, for redistricting and methods of electing government bodies.

On August 5, 2021, in United States v. New Jersey (D.N.J.), the Department filed a complaint under Section 7 of the National Voter Registration Act as well as a proposed consent decree. On September 1, the court signed the decree.

On July 28, 2021, in Rose v. Raffensperger (N.D. Ga.), the Department filed a statement of interest under Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act in a case concerning the method of election for the Georgia Public Service Commission.

On July 28, 2021, the Department issued guidance on post-election audits and the federal election record and preservation requirements of the Civil Rights Act and the anti-intimidation provisions of the federal voting rights laws.

On July 28, 2021, the Department issued guidance on methods of voting and the federal voting rights laws.

On July 26, 2021, in Georgia State Conference of the NAACP v. Raffensperger (N.D. Ga.), the Department filed a statement of interest under Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act in a case concerning SB 202.

On July 12, 2021, in United States v. Oneida County Board of Elections (N.D.N.Y.) the Department filed a complaint under Section 8 of the National Voter Registration Act and Section 302 of the Help America Vote Act as well as a proposed consent decree. On July 13, the court signed and entered the decree.

On June 25, 2021, in United States v. State of Georgia (N.D. Ga.), the Department filed a complaint under Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act challenging aspects of the omnibus elections law, SB 202 (2021), as intended to deny or abridge the right to vote on account of race or color.

On May 5, 2021, the Department sent a letter to the Arizona Senate under the Civil Rights Act and the Voting Rights Act regarding a post-election audit for Maricopa County.

On April 14, 2021, in United States v. City of West Monroe (W.D. La.) the Department filed a complaint under Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act challenging the at-large method of election for the City of West Monroe’s city council as well as a proposed consent decree. On April 15, the court signed and entered the decree.

On January 8, 2021, in Public Interest Legal Foundation v. Boockvar (M.D. Pa.), the Department filed a statement of interest regarding Section 8 of the National Voter Registration Act.

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[2naSalit]

3. K&R

They had better be on this.

[LetMyPeopleVote]

5. U.S. Justice Department will again have election monitors in Texas

TFG demanded that Texas audit the 2020 elections. In connection with this audit and other stunts, the Texas Secretary of State is sending monitors/inspectors to Harris County. Judge Lina Hidalgo has asked for the DOJ to seen inspectors to Harris County and Harris County is one of the counties. where there will be federal monitors.

Link to tweet

https://www.texastribune.org/2022/11/07/justice-department-election-monitors-texas/

The U.S. Department of Justice announced Monday it will send election monitors to three Texas counties — Harris, Dallas and Waller — to keep an eye on local compliance with federal voting rights laws on Election Day.

Monitors from the Justice Department are regularly deployed across the country for major elections, with Texas counties making the list for at least the past decade under both Democratic and Republican administrations. The three Texas counties are among 64 jurisdictions in 24 states that will have a federal presence Tuesday.

The department did not specify how it made its selections for monitoring, though Harris and Waller counties have made the list in the last four presidential and midterm elections. Harris and Dallas are the state’s largest and second-largest counties. Rural Waller County is home to Prairie View A&M University, a historically Black campus.

Voters can send complaints on possible violations of federal law to the DOJ through its website or by calling 800-253-3931. Polls open at 7 a.m. on Election Day.