Judge sides with Texas Democratic Party in flap over delegates

Dallas Morning News - Associated Press - Thursday, May 22, 2008
AUSTIN – A federal judge sided with the Texas Democratic Party on Thursday in a lawsuit filed by Latino voter advocates who claimed the party's method for apportioning presidential delegates is discriminatory.

U.S. District Judge Fred Biery in San Antonio ruled that the spirit and intent of the federal Voting Rights Act, which protects minority voters, was not violated, as the League of United Latin American Citizens and other plaintiffs alleged.

Biery dismissed the case. He ruled that the Voting Rights Act does not dictate to political parties how to decide on their presidential nominees as long as everyone has the right to participate.

The Latino voter advocates claimed the complicated Texas delegate system – which included a March 4 primary and caucus and senate district caucuses March 29 – unfairly dilutes Latino votes by allotting fewer presidential delegates to heavily Hispanic areas.

Nearly all the delegates are apportioned based on Democratic voter turnout numbers in state senate districts in previous elections. This year, that meant that some predominantly Hispanic districts, where turnout was low in 2004 and 2006, got fewer delegates than others, particularly urban, predominantly black districts where Democratic turnout was higher.

Latino districts favored Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton in this spring's primary and caucuses; black districts favored Sen. Barack Obama.

Democratic leaders contend their state delegate system is fair and that it rewards those areas that strongly support the party.

"We are pleased with Judge Biery's ruling, but it is important to remember that both the Texas Democratic Party and LULAC respect the importance of the Voting Rights Act and encourage participation by Texans from all walks of life in the electoral process," Texas Democratic Party chairman Boyd Richie said.

Jose Garza, an attorney for the Latino voter advocates, said it's likely the plaintiffs will appeal the opinion to the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans, though a final decision hasn't been made.

He said there may be an appeal because of the important issues at stake in the case and the "fairly devastating scope of the decision." Garza declined to say anything further until discussing it with his clients.

The plaintiffs were not contesting to whom the delegates were awarded, but rather how the allotment is made.

The judge wrote that the plaintiffs never alleged that Latino voters were "intimidated, threatened or otherwise kept from voting." He said if they had gone to the polls in greater numbers in previous elections they would have benefited.

"The adage remains 'no vote, no voice,"' he wrote.

The case was filed earlier this month. Both sides were pushing for a ruling before the party's state convention in Austin on June 6-7, where the final decision on caucus delegates to the national convention for Clinton and Obama will be made.

Texas will send 228 delegates to the national convention. Of those, 126 were determined by primary results, while 67 others are pledged delegates distributed through a series of caucuses, culminating with the upcoming state convention. There are 32 superdelegates who can make their own decision on which candidate to support, and three others will be named by the state party chairman.

Democratic Party officials had noted that the general system for selecting Texas presidential delegates has been in place for 20 years.

Biery agreed, and said the reason it got such notice this year was because of the close presidential race. The judge also mentioned his own background as a Democrat and the fact that he was appointed by former President Bill Clinton in the 1990s.

He wrote: "Notes of full disclosure: Senator Clinton's husband nominated me to the federal bench, and I hope to shoot baskets some day with Senator Obama."
Read more in the Dallas Morning News

LULAC sued Texas Democratic Party over primary delegates

By MICHELLE ROBERTS - Associated Press Writer - May 9, 2008
Article Launched: 05/09/2008 02:04:36 PM MDT

SAN ANTONIO—The Texas Democratic Party was sued Friday by Latino advocacy groups that contend the complicated primary and caucus system used in the March 4 presidential primary unfairly diluted Latino votes.
The League of United Latin American Citizens of Texas and the Mexican American Bar Association of Houston sued in federal court, arguing the party failed to seek clearance required by the U.S. Justice Department for the so-called "Texas Two Step." The groups also argue the system effectively discriminates against Latino voters by giving them fewer delegates.

Texas Democrats distribute the state's 193 delegates using both a primary election and a caucus, but the distribution favors state Senate districts that had high voter turnout in the last presidential and gubernatorial elections.

In the March 4 election, that meant predominantly Hispanic districts, where turnout was low in 2004 and 2006, got fewer delegates than others, particularly urban, predominantly black districts. Latino districts favored Hillary Clinton; black districts favored Barack Obama.

"The manner used to allocate the delegates ... undervalues Latino Democratic voters and does not provide Latino voters with an equal opportunity to participate in the nominating process and to elect candidates of their choice," the lawsuit says.

Obama and Clinton remained locked in a pitched battle over delegates to secure the nomination.

Clinton won more delegates in the primary, though Obama is expected to end up with more delegates when caucus numbers are settled in June.
LULAC is not seeking to stop Texas delegates from being seated at the Democratic convention, however.

"This is not a lawsuit about Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama," said LULAC attorney Jose Garza. "We think this has an adverse effect on the Latino community, and it seems to us that it's a fairly simple fix."

LULAC wants the delegates reallocated to give Latino-majority areas a stronger voice, and he said several methods could achieve that.

Because of the close election and the proportional distribution of delegates, any change in the total number going to each candidate is likely to be relatively incremental, Garza said.

State Democratic Party spokesman Hector Nieto the primary election system was not submitted to the DOJ for clearance but that the party was only required to get approval from its state convention attendees and the Democratic National Committee.

He had not seen the lawsuit Friday afternoon and declined to comment on specifics. But he noted that any Democrat is free to offer resolutions to change the operation.

"At any point in time, any Democrat can offer to make changes to that plan, and those changes happen at our state convention," he said.

Several resolutions related to the presidential primary system have been submitted for the convention on June 6-7 in Austin.

Read more in the El Paso Times

Lawsuit bid to take Denton mayor, two others off ballot fails

By LOWELL BROWN - Denton Record-Chronicle - April 22, 2008

A district judge on Monday allowed Denton Mayor Perry McNeill and two other candidates to remain on the May 10 ballot, after a lawsuit challenged their eligibility.

Visiting Judge David Evans said he would not intervene in an election that is under way. Early voting in the City Council races starts Monday, but city officials said they already sent out two absentee ballots.

The judge did not rule on the merits of the lawsuit, which alleges that Mr. McNeill, Mayor Pro Tem Pete Kamp and former council member Mark Burroughs would violate the city's term limits by winning another term.
The charter prevents council members from being elected to more than three consecutive two-year terms. But city attorneys say term limits do not carry over to council members who run for a different seat, including mayor, or sit out a term.

Judge Evans said future hearings could address broader issues in the case, such as how to interpret the city charter's three-term limit.

Also, the judge's decision would not prevent candidates from contesting the election after votes are cast, as the state election code allows.

Michael Whitten, an attorney for the city, said the decision did not surprise him.

"I felt all along that the law was such that no judge would have taken these candidates off the ballot," Mr. Whitten said.

Mike Sutton, Ms. Kamp's opponent for at-large District 5, expressed frustration over the decision. Mr. Sutton, who is one of five plaintiffs in the case, filed separate litigation last week challenging Ms. Kamp's eligibility. That case is pending before the 2nd Court of Appeals in Fort Worth.

Hearing on Wendy Davis' Candidacy for Sen. Dist. 10 Scheduled for Monday, January 23rd, 11am

By Tarrant County Democratic Party - Jan. 18, 2008
Hearing on Wendy Davis' Candidacy for Sen. Dist. 10
Scheduled for Monday, January 23rd, 11am

The Firefighters' appeal to Chairman Art Brender's decision to declare Wendy Davis eligible as a candidate in the Senate District 10 Primary will be heard by the Court of Appeals on Monday, January 23rd, at 11am.

The Hearing will take place on the 9th Floor of the Tarrant County Justice Center.