Texas Voter ID Law Found in Violation of Voting Rights Act; Baton Rouge Mulls Making Police City Residents
An election official checks a voter's photo identification at an early voting polling site in Austin, Texas, in February 2014. Eric Gay / AP Photo
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Also in our State and Local Daily Digest: No Tucson City Council term limits for now; a former Pennsylvania treasurer indicted; and Manatee County's soon-to-be property surplus.
AUSTIN, TEXAS
VOTER ID | The U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals decided that Texas’ voter identification rules violate the law prohibiting racial discrimination in elections. The 2011 law made the Lone Star State one of the strictest in the nation in terms of identification policies; it’s list of acceptable forms of ID is one of the shortest. Experts have found that over 600,000 Texans lack those forms of identification. The ruling did not immediately halt the law. The judges merely instructed a lower court to come up with a remedy. [Texas Tribune]
BATON ROUGE, LOUISIANA
LAW ENFORCEMENT | The three police officers who were killed in Baton Rouge on Sunday lived outside the boundaries of the city where they had worked. Now, two Metro Council members are pushing a change the police department requirements to make that impossible. The change would force future Baton Rouge police officers to live within city limits. It’s an idea that gained support from State Rep. C. Denise Marcelle, who questions if a police force made of up officers who aren’t Baton Rouge residents can truly represent the people they serve. The measure, however, would significantly reduce the number of potential new recruits to the force. [The Advocate]
TUCSON, ARIZONA
TERM LIMITS | City Clerk Roger Randolph rejected a citizen-led proposal to limit the terms of the mayor and City Council members. The petition had more than 11,900 signatures, but the Pima County Recorder’s Office estimated 3,686 were ineligible. Random samples of 5 percent of signatures revealed people not registered to vote or living outside city limits. A total of 9,100 valid signatures were needed to get the initiative on November’s ballot. The proposal would have limited terms to eight years. [Arizona Daily Herald]
INDIANA, PENNSYLVANIA
INDICTMENT | Former Pennsylvania Treasurer Barbara Hafer, 72, was indicted by a grand jury for hiding “hundreds of thousands of dollars” from federal agents. The concealed $675,000 in state pay-to-play “consulting fees” could earn her up to 10 years in prison. State auditor general from 1989 to 1997 and treasurer from 1997 to 2005, Hafer switched from Republican to Democrat in 2003—having run for governor in 1990 and 2002. [LancasterOnline]
MANATEE COUNTY, FLORIDA
SURPLUS LAND | County government created a realtime GIS story map showing the potential surplus property it owns along with the size and assessed value. More than 70 parcels have been flagged, but the county must first declare them surplus—being of no need—before they can be sold. “We want to put them on the tax roll and put to good use unless identified for a potential project,” said the county’s property management director. [Bradenton Herald]
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