Written+Assignment+-+GOVT+2301+-+Spring+2013


 * Critically Assessing the 2012 Battle Over Elections in Texas**

One point I hope to make in class is that while elections are indeed important, what is more important is the ability to structure elections themselves. True power is less about determining who wins a specific election than in establishing the rules that wdetermine how the election will be conducted. This includes questions such as, who gets to vote? What requirements exist regarding registering to vote? What other requirements exist regarding actually casting a vote? Do these requirments treat people equally? What districts are people voted from? What rules exist regarding funding elections? The list can go on and on.

Over the past year and a half, the state of Texas has been at the center of a variety of conflicts involving elections. These include Photo ID requirements and redistricting among other things. Many of these changes have put the states at odds with the national government, and specifically the Voting Rights Act of 1965 which requires states like Texas to have any changes to its election laws approved by a panel of federal judges before they can be implemented. (This is because the state has a nasty history of racial discrimination). There are debates over whether this process is proper and whether the national governments oversight over the state is no longer necessary.

I want you to select a specific controversy regarding changes in Texas electoral laws and think critically about its impact and propriety. Describe the change, discuss the controversy and weigh in the the relative merits and demerits of each side. You can take this in many directions, as long as it pertains to the general subject.

Among the items you might want to focus on are these:

- The redistricting process in Texas. - The nature of voting rights in the state. - The factors that led to the redistricting in the 82nd Legislative Session. - The circumstances that made Texas subject to preclearance under the Voting Rights Act of 1965. - The controversies associated with the redistricting. - The controversies associated with voter fraud and photo ID laws. - The role of the federal courts in determining whether state electoral laws are legitimate under the US Constitution.

These are just a few ideas, feel free to go in whatever direction you choose. Just make sure it sticks to the general topic.

I'll add information over the course of the semester.

Some useful websites:

- Texas Tribune: [|Topics - Redistricting]. - Ballotpedia: [|Voter fraud in Texas].