United States Department of Justice Stands with Texas Young Voters

DOJ Rejects Texas’ Disenfranchising Voter ID Bill

HOUSTON, March 12, 2012 — Today, the Texas League of Young Voters Education Fund is proud to stand with the Department of Justice and their work to protect the right of all Texans, especially young people, to have access to the ballot. In July, the State of Texas submitted SB 14 for pre-clearance under Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act, also known as Voter ID. This voter suppression law would have made drastic changes to our state’s election process as nearly 2.3 million registered voters would be impacted if SB 14 became law, according to a report by the Houston Chronicle.   Read more…

By Christina Sanders (Texas State Director). Originally published on 99Problems.org.

It has been about a year since SB-14, the Voter ID law from Texas, was being discussed as “emergency” legislation. The bill limits the way in which Texans would be able to have access to the ballot. Designated as an “emergency” piece of legislation by Texas Gov. Rick Perry, it is now urgent that we educate each other to stand against this unjust law.

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Texas League Fellows Spring 2012 Class

The Texas League is excited to welcome our new Spring 2012 Fellows Class.  After a comprehensive application  and interview process, we’ve selected 18 new Fellows from across the state of Texas representing cities of Austin, College Station, Houston, Dallas, and San Antonio. These Fellows will spend five months engaged in hands-on leadership development activities tailored to empower progressive-minded young people to become advocates and activists in their communities. Click here to read more about the Texas League Fellows Program and view pictures from the recent January training session.

By Christina Sanders (Texas State Director). Originally published on 99Problems.org.

This year has been a very emotional year for young people, people of color and the poor in Texas. Even though I was not alive during the era of Jim Crow laws that sought to segregate and suppress the electoral impact of African Americans, somehow I feel like I am in the midst of a Jim Crow fight today. The 82^nd Session of the Texas Legislature proved brutal to the confidence that many voting rights groups and advocates have in our state lawmakers. During that session, state house and senate representatives voted to approve a Voter ID bill that offered so many restrictions that one might assume Mr. Jimmy Crow wrote it himself.

This photo ID law was deemed “emergency” legislation by Texas Gov. Rick Perry. Someone please call 911 because that emergency  Voter ID bill could flip the script on Texas voters by no longer allowing voters to use a voter registration card to cast a ballot – leaving more than a half million registered voters shot and voiceless. Read more…

DEAN ROHRER / HC

By Judith Browne Dianis (co-director of Advancement Project) and Christina Sanders (Texas State Director of the League of Young Voters). Originally published in the Houston Chronicle. 

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