AUSTIN, TX — In reaction to today’s announcement that the U.S. Department of Justice will pursue legal action requiring Texas to receive “preclearance” prior to amending election laws, state Representative Chris Turner (HD101 – Grand Prairie) released the following statement:
“I commend the Department of Justice for its support of re-instituting ‘preclearance’ requirements for Texas election laws. Texas has a long and unfortunate history of disenfranchising voters. Most recently, the D.C. District Court found that the 2011 redistricting maps drawn by Texas Republicans intentionally discriminated against minorities, and the court also determined that the state’s voter photo ID law discriminated against Texans living in poverty, many of whom are minorities.
“The recent refusal by Republican leaders to make substantive changes to redistricting maps recommended by minority groups and their obsession with creating new hurdles for voters by rushing to implement the voter photo ID law, shows that Texas should continue to be subject to pre-clearance under the Voter Rights Act.”
