Posted by Nicholas Beaudrot of Electoral Math
To recap, redistricting plans and election procedure changes in Texas, Georgia, and most of the South (plus a few other places) must be approved by the US Department of Justice thanks to the voting rights act. The DoJ is responsible for ensuring that new district maps or registration requirements at the very least do not dilute the minority vote. As it turns out, the career justice officials recommended that the DoJ reject Texas's re-redistricting in the 2003 DeLaymander, but they were overruled by political appointees. This parallels a similar instance when Georgia -- my home state, which has at times been an oasis of progressive change in the South at times but is now quite reactionary -- sought preclearance for its new voter identification standards. I'm sure you're all shocked -- shocked! -- to find that there is politicization going on in this establishment.
While the real question for me in the latest round of the Texas Redistricting brouhaha is why career Justice officials are leaking now and what is it that they expect to gain, I thought I'd use the case as a chance to extend the Blog Against Racism discussion for another day.
