The Voting News Weekly: The Voting News Weekly – August 19-25 2013
The Justice Department announced that it would become a plaintiff in two lawsuits against the State of Texas, indicating an escalation of the Obama Administration’s efforts to restore a stronger federal role in protecting minority voters. Always divided by ideological differences, the Federal Election Commission is now gridlocked over purely partisan maneuvers. Spencer Overton challenges the notion of a “post-racial” Voting Rights Act. The Secretaries of State of Arizona and Kansas have sued the Obama Administration in a continuing effort by both states to require proof of citizenship in order to register to vote when using the Federal application form created as a result of the National Voter Registration Act of 1993. Controversy arose in Michigan when Wayne County Clerk Cathy Garrett’s recommendation to discard over 18,000 write-in ballots in the Detroit mayoral election over a minor clerical reporting error. Rick Hasen observed that North Carolina’s quick passage of sweeping changes to the State’s election code indicates that the Voting Rights Act had been working prior to this summer’s Supreme Court decision. The Washington Post compared campaigns in the US and Germany and after a four year delay an election date has been set for Madagascar.