TEXAS REDISTRICTING & ELECTION LAW
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Michael Li,
michael.li@nyu.edu, 646-292-8360.
Meanwhile in South Carolina’s voter ID case, the three-judge panel has issued an initial scheduling order, asking the parties to submit a status report by April 11 and setting the first status conference in the case for April 13 at 3 p.m.
The court asked that the status report include a decision by the Justice Department as to whether DOJ would be challenging the law just on basis of discriminatory effect or whether it would also argue that the law was enacted with discriminatory purpose.
The court also asked South Carolina to advise it by April 10 of the latest date the law could be precleared and still be put into effect for the November 2012 elections.
To date, South Carolina (unlike Texas) has not raised a direct challenge to the constitutionality of section 5 of the Voting Rights Act, but, like Texas did initially, is arguing that the scope of section 5 needs to construed in a way to allow South Carolina’s law to pass muster if constitutional implications are to be avoided.
The panel’s scheduling order can be found here.
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