TEXAS REDISTRICTING & ELECTION LAW

The parties in the Texas voter ID case submitted a proposed trial schedule to the three-judge panel this afternoon.

Though there are a number of areas where the parties were able to agree, there also were a number of areas of disagreement which the court will need to resolve.

Under the proposed order, the parties are asking for a 5-8 day trial, with the trial to start July 30.

However, the State of Texas said in a footnote to the order that the date was acceptable only if the court believed that a July 30 trial would enable the court to issue its ruling by August 15 - “the date by which Texas will need a favorable ruling if it is to implement SB 14 for the November elections.”

The parties also disagree with the issues that should be included at trial, with the Justice Department and intervenors arguing that issues concerning the constitutionality of section 5 of the Voting Rights Act should be bifurcated from the rest of the case and decided at a later date only after the court makes a merits ruling on preclearance.  

DOJ and the intervenors argue that this would be consistent with the course adopted in the Florida preclearance case (involving changes to Florida’s voter registration rules) and also would allow the D.C. Circuit to rule on the constitutional claim in the Shelby County  and Kinston cases.

The parties’ proposed trial scheduling order can be found here.

The status report of DOJ and the intervenors can be found here.