Thread: Hispanics' Texas Primary Suit To Be Reconsidered

Feb 18, 8:13 PM EST

Hispanics' Texas primary suit to be reconsidered
By KELLEY SHANNON
Associated Press Writer

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) -- Latino voters who sued the Texas Democratic Party, claiming its presidential delegate system discriminates against Hispanics, are getting another chance to make their case.

A judge threw out the lawsuit last year, but the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans ruled Tuesday that a three-judge panel - not one judge - should decide its merits. The appeals court sent the case back to the lower court for reconsideration.

The League of United Latin American Citizens, the Mexican American Bar Association of Houston and other plaintiffs sued the state and the Democratic Party after the intense primary between Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama. The plaintiffs weren't contesting to whom the delegates were awarded, but rather how the allotment was made.

They argue that the complicated delegate system known as the "Texas two-step" unfairly dilutes Latino votes by awarding fewer presidential delegates to heavily Hispanic areas.

The appeals court did not rule on the merits of the claims but agreed with the Latino groups that the judicial review of election practices the plaintiffs seek under the Voting Rights Act requires a three-judge panel. The court reinstated the Democratic Party as a defendant but not the state, saying the delegate system is the party's and not the state's.

The delegate process includes a primary and caucus plus state Senate district caucuses a few weeks later. Plaintiffs say the system dilutes the votes of those who cast only a primary ballot but can't make it to an evening caucus on primary day.

Nearly all the delegates in the Texas system are apportioned based on Democratic voter turnout numbers in state Senate districts in previous elections. So, low turnout in a Hispanic area for Democrat Chris Bell in the 2006 gubernatorial election resulted in fewer presidential delegates for that district in 2008.

LULAC contends that Latino districts by nature have fewer Democratic participants because the voting age population is younger.

"They reward white Republican districts and dilute the vote of the Latino districts," Luis Vera, national general counsel for LULAC, said Wednesday.

In last year's dismissal, U.S. District Judge Fred Biery of San Antonio had said the spirit and intent of the Voting Rights Act was not violated. Biery said the act does not dictate to political parties how to determine their presidential nominees as long as everyone is allowed to participate.

Texas Democratic officials said their rules have no discriminatory intent or effect, and that they are confident they will win again before Biery and two other judges to be named.

"We think it's a fundamental First Amendment issue," party attorney Chad Dunn said. "The Texas Democratic Party runs a fair primary system. ... You just turn out and vote and you're awarded more delegates next time around.

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/D/ ... TE=DEFAULT

The entire election system should be overhauled. This rule left into the hands of a few "delegates" from their party, is like a condominium association deciding to assess all residents for fresh flowers every day in the lobby. And the electoral college has made me crazy for years; they no longer need to exist.
These are traditions born from the days when a representative had to gallop votes from their area to a central location, and after those votes were counted, someone had to gallop the results to the various party locations, who then gathered the results they received and galloped the results to Philadelphia or Washington. Funny, on election night, I heard no one galloping votes anywhere. Horses get to snooze in their feed bags since we now have COMPUTERS and better communications than the smoke signal.

Without the electoral college, then only about 5 states would determine the presidency and those large cities in those states would guarantee a democrat President for eternity. The electoral college system gives a voice to smaller states.

There is movement afoot in Congress to abolish the electoral college. With the modern day media and the age of instant returns they feel there no longer is a need for an electoral college and elections should be decided by popular vote......

[/quote]"They reward white Republican districts and dilute the vote of the Latino districts," Luis Vera, national general counsel for LULAC, said Wednesday.[/quote]

What he means is the illegals should decide who gets elected.