August 3, 2024 -- Brewer Storefront commented on a damaging decision by the U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals barring minority groups from bringing coalition claims in Section 2 Voting Rights Act claims.
“The 5th Circuit decision is a blow to enforcement of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 in Texas,” said William A. Brewer III, partner at Brewer Storefront. “This decision endangers the voting rights of Black, Hispanic and other minority voters in the state.”
The Court ruled on a Section 2 Voting Rights Act case, Petteway v. Galveston County, Texas. Black and Hispanic voters argued that redistricting of maps for electing Galveston County Commissioners diluted minority votes by eliminating the county’s only majority-minority seat.
The Dissent written by Judge Dana Douglas detailed the negative impact of the decision, noting that the decision “dismantled the effectiveness of the Voting Rights Act in this circuit, leaving four decades of en banc precedent flattened in its wake.”
The Storefront submitted an amicus brief in support of the Petteway plaintiffs on February 26, 2024. The Storefront states in the brief, “Amicus writes to oppose Defendants’ request to fundamentally reshape the application of Section 2 as it conflicts with the history, text, purpose, and jurisprudence behind the VRA.”
The Amicus points out that the Fifth Circuit was the first federal circuit court to allow minority coalition claims in a 1987 case, LULAC v. Midland ISD. The Amicus adds that, “it is clear that the VRA is intended to broadly protect minority voting rights, including coalition claims, not limit protections of certain minority groups based on the composition of the group facing disenfranchisement.”
The Storefront previously brought coalition claims in voting rights cases, including in a pending case currently stayed brought against Pearland Independent School District, Shafer v. Pearland Independent School District, alleging that the at large election system used to elect the school board denies voters of color a fair opportunity to elect candidates of their choosing brought by a Hispanic plaintiff and an Asian plaintiff.
The Storefront—the community service affiliate of the law firm, Brewer, Attorneys & Counselors—in March 2024 launched the Texas Voting Rights Initiative (“TVRI”).
The TVRI is a statewide effort focused on ensuring that Texas school boards operate in compliance with the Voting Rights Act.
The Storefront currently has pending cases also against the Humble Independent School District and Angleton Independent School District in Texas brought on behalf of Hispanic voters.
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