DALLAS - The Supreme Court of the United States joins the Texas redistricting battle today, and a decision could affect national voting rules that have been in place since 1965.

States such as Texas with histories of voter discrimination need federal approval before changing election procedures that might affect minorities. However, the high court could be on the verge of undercutting the "pre-clearance" requirements of the Voting Rights Act, according to such election-law specialists as Dallas attorney Michael Li, who is an expert on redistricting matters. He points to a growing chorus of critics who believe some provisions are no longer necessary.

"There is an effort around the country to roll back the pre-clearance requirements and, if that happens, it has a huge impact on everything; voter ID laws, voter registration laws, all kinds of things no longer would have to be approved before they could go into effect."

Last summer's legislative efforts to redraw Texas congressional and state-house district boundaries have not yet been approved because of concern that the maps don't adequately account for minority population gains. As that fight heads to trial, the state wants the Supreme Court to allow the new maps to be used in this year's elections, instead of interim maps drawn by federal judges in San Antonio.

Lawyer Li says it would be precedent-setting if the state gets its way, removing the teeth from the pre-clearance section of the Voting Rights Act.

"The argument is that Section Five says what it means and meant what it said, which is that you can't put anything into effect until it's been pre-cleared by the Justice Department or by a court in Washington, and that hasn't happened yet."

Critics of Section Five of the Voting Rights Act say it's not fair to single out some states because of past discrimination, but supporters counter that contentious redistricting efforts in states like Texas prove there's still a problem. The Legislature's plan did not increase the number of so-called "minority opportunity districts," even though blacks and Hispanics account for nearly 90 percent of Texas growth, based on the last census.

Some high-court justices have already signaled an interest in reexamining the Voting Rights Act, and it's possible the Texas case could be the vehicle for a broad review. Li doesn't think that's likely, given the need to shore up the 2012 election maps soon, but he says it would be a big deal if Section Five were deemed unconstitutional.

"That would be earth-shattering, because something that has been relied upon by minority groups for decades now to protect them would be gone."

Other possible outcomes? The Supreme Court could instruct the San Antonio court to redraw its interim maps to be more in line with the Legislature's plan. Or, the high court could say the lower-court maps should be used as is, until the fate of the legislative maps is settled.

You can follow latest redistricting developments at txredistricting.org




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Pennsylvania is among the states where massive protests and tent encampments opposing the war in Gaza are growing.

Elez Beresin-Scher, a sociology student at Bryn Mawr College, is at the Free Gaza encampment on campus. She explained there are about 44 tents full of students who have been sleeping there since Saturday night.

She spoke to Sonali Kolhatkar on the TV and radio show Yes! Presents: Rising Up with Sonali.

"We are here because our college has $5 million of its endowment invested in Israeli technology," Beresin-Scher pointed out. "We know that this money is complicit in the genocide of Palestinians; over 30,000 Palestinians have been murdered by the State of Israel."

Beresin-Scher added they are calling on the college and the university president's office to divest Israeli holdings and endorse a cease-fire resolution passed by 89% of the student body about a month ago. She added they will be at the encampment indefinitely until their two demands are met.

Pro-Israel groups argued the war is justified given the massacre perpetrated by Hamas, which kicked off the most recent violence. Beresin-Scher noted they are taking a significant risk but they believe genocide is occurring in Palestine and they want to see it end.

"We're recognizing that Palestinian students have been murdered, or are not able to continue their education because every university in Gaza has been bombed, has been destroyed," Beresin-Scher emphasized. "That's the perspective that we're coming from."

Beresin-Scher has been a member of Jewish Voice for Peace since her freshman year, and said it is upsetting to hear the encampments are being portrayed as anti-Semitic. She noted it is something she has never encountered as someone who has organized with Students for Justice in Palestine.

This story was produced based on original reporting by Sonali Kolhatkar for Yes! Media.

Massive protests and tent encampments opposing the war in Gaza are growing at universities across California, with classes canceled at the University of California-Los Angeles Wednesday, after tensions boiled over into violence there.

Police arrested 25 students at California State Polytechnic University-Humboldt Tuesday.

An organizer named Rithik from the Students for Gaza encampment at San Francisco State University recently spoke to Sonali Kolhatkar for her TV and radio show Yes! Presents: Rising Up with Sonali.

"Students everywhere are appalled at the current genocide occurring in Gaza that is being perpetrated by Israel and backed by the United States," Rithik stated. "We understand that our taxpayer money is not going towards our own education, but rather to fund this genocide and wars of aggression across the world."

At San Francisco State, students are demanding the California State University System divest any holdings in companies selling arms to Israel, assurances the student protesters will not be sanctioned by the school, and for the university president to make a statement opposing Israeli occupation of Palestinian land and declaring the war a genocide.

Pro-Israel groups argued the war is justified given the massacre perpetrated by Hamas, which kicked off the most recent violence. They also worry Jewish students will feel intimidated on campus. However, a Jewish student named Jacob at San Francisco State said it has not been his experience.

"I don't think we've ever felt that any of the actions being taken in the name of anti-Zionism and anti-colonialism are antisemitic," Jacob asserted. "Never felt unsafe, never felt unwelcome in these spaces. Anti-Zionism is not antisemitism."

San Francisco State President Lynn Mahoney has emphasized the university's support for peaceful protest and said the university has already taken steps to divest.

This story was produced based on original reporting by Sonali Kolhatkar for Yes! Media.


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A new report showed turnover among California chief election officials reached 57% in 2022, a record high. It then declined this year to 40%.

Researchers at the University of California-Los Angeles partnered with the Bipartisan Policy Center to analyze the data from 18,000 jurisdictions nationwide.

Rachel Orey, senior associate director of the Elections Project for the Bipartisan Policy Center, said the jobs of election workers have become significantly harder in recent years.

"Today, election officials must manage everything from cybersecurity risks posed by foreign adversaries to people who are doubting the outcome of elections, to information technology, legal disputes, political pressures," Orey outlined.

The turnover rate is defined as the percentage of jurisdictions in a state where the chief local election official changed within the prior four years. It has been an issue in California for decades. The turnover rate stood at 41% back in 2004. But things got much worse after 2020, when election officials became targets of threats and harassment, often spurred by former President Donald Trump's evidence-free claims about a rigged election.

Orey noted she expects this year's presidential election to go smoothly, because dozens of states, including California, have done a lot to "beef up" the elections workforce.

"Sixty-five percent of local election officials have experience running a presidential election," Orey pointed out. "Where there are new officials, we find that they have an average of eight years of experience in an election office. So all in all, we see that election officials are well-prepared to administer the 2024 presidential election."

The report recommended better funding for elections offices, higher salaries and more training in order to attract and retain a highly skilled election workforce.

Support for this reporting was provided by The Carnegie Corporation of New York.


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