Texas Spent Over $2M Defending Discriminatory Voter ID Law, Redistricting Plan

[highplainsdem]

Source: TPM

The state of Texas spent over $2 million defending its voter ID law and its redistricting plan, both of which were declared discriminatory by separate panels of federal judges, the Dallas Morning News reported Thursday.

The voter ID case has cost Texas $704,860.67 in office expenses and $471,719.59 for outside counsel, while the redistricting case cost $386,583.18 in office expenses, $386,083 in outside counsel and $138,099.99 for expert witnesses.

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Read more: http://livewire.talkingpointsmemo.com/entry/texas-spent-over-2m-defending-discriminatory-voter-id

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More from the Dallas Morning News:

http://www.dallasnews.com/news/state/headlines/20120905-cost-of-legal-fight-over-voter-id-redistricting-tops-2-million.ece

WASHINGTON — Texas has now spent more than $2 million defending its law to require photo identification to vote and its redrawing of political boundaries, officials said after federal judges sided against the state in both cases last week.

And taxpayers’ outlays will grow as Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott appeals both cases to the U.S. Supreme Court.

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Luis Vera, general counsel for the League of United Latin American Citizens, called the legal fight a “solid waste of money.”

“It’s continuous, nonstop litigation, and each and every time the courts find that the Legislature intentionally discriminates against Latinos and African-Americans,” Vera said.

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[Berlum]

1. Republicans squander taxpayer money to disenfranchise taxpayers

How Republican is that?

[SoapBox]

2. Way to waste the hard earned tax dollars of the citizens, Gov. BatShitCrazy

...I would say funny, if it were, that the Bullies and Baggers will waste untold tax payer dollars, if it suits them.

Disgusting and Disgraceful.

[Turbineguy]

3. To republicans, money wasted

on rigging elections is never wasted.

[benld74]

4. Money down the crapper, as my father use to say,,,,,,,,,,

[oliverrams1]

5. OMG

TEXAS IS SO BIG AND SO SPREAD OUT THAT THERE IS NO WAY PEOPLE LIVING IN ALL THE SMALL TOWNS AND COUNTIES COULD GET AN ID OR GUN LICENSE TO VOTE. PERRY KNOWS THIS.

[Andy823]

6. We must always remember

For republicans it's only WORONG when democrats do it, waste millions of dollars, but when they do it, well no big deal, who cares!

The good old GOP double standards at work!

[leftyohiolib]

8. the party of whiny babies

[avebury]

7. That sounds like something like Oklahoma would do. nt

[Hubert Flottz]

9. The GOPer bastards will want to tax granny's medicare to

pay for this kind of frivolous bullshit.

[Lone_Star_Dem]

10. Meh, it's money well spent in their eyes. They'll just take it out of CHIP or school funding.

That's how Texas Republicans work.

[mikki35]

11. Shocker

I gotta wonder - what is up with Texas? At every turn, these people are having stuff like this shoved up their nose, and they still cannot get past their near-suicidal obsession with Republicans. Of course, there are bunches of Democrats, I know, but this state just consistently emits monster bat-signals of lunacy and, just as consistently, votes majority Republican. They seem to be obsessed with the death penalty and squirting out evangelical monsters, recent presidential contenders like GW Bush and Rick Perry to contend with. I just don't get it. Since when is Texas all about disenfranchising voters?

[oldsarge54]

12. Just fire a few more teachers

And then there is that town that fired all the police, including the police chief. Texas has there priorities, keep the elite in power, keep the lessor people on minimum wages, fire teachers (they'll work for peanuts anyway, most of them want to teach), but by God, Perry did find money to fully fund the high school football program.

PS. Native born, wasp type texan, former teacher, retired Air Force.

[efhmc]

13. Small change for rove and group.

Last edited Thu Sep 6, 2012, 04:56 PM - Edit history (1)

Unfortunately, we, the taxpayers of Texas, are footing this republican scheme.

[mojo2012]

14. Need I say more

There a lot of very wealthy people in Texas and guess who they want in the White House? Need I say more?
Unfortunately, there are even more people who need the social services that the Romney/Ryan plan will cut. How inexcusable that they are squandering all this money to obstruct voting rights and not spending it on their own folks in the state