On August 5, the Fifth Circuit issued an opinion in Veasey v Abbott, 14-41127. The voting rights organizations that filed the case had argued that the 2011 Texas law that requires voters at the polls to show certain kinds of government photo-ID violates the Voting Rights Act, section two. In 2014 the U.S. District Court had agreed with the plaintiffs and invalidated the law. The Fifth Circuit agrees with the U.S. District Court that the Texas law has the effect of discriminating against Hispanic and African-American voters.

But the Fifth Circuit said that just because the law has a discriminatory effect does not resolve the case. The Fifth Circuit remanded the case back to the U.S. District Court to determine if the Texas law was enacted with a discriminatory purpose. If it doesn’t, then section two of the Voting Rights Act cannot be used to overturn the law. The Fifth Circuit expresses no opinion about whether the Texas photo ID law violates the Fourteenth Amendment. Thanks to Rick Hasen for the link.

On August 4, Pennsylvania held a special election to fill the vacant State House seat, 161st district. The only two candidates on the ballot were Republican Paul A. Mullen and Democrat Leanne Krueger-Braneky. However, there was another Republican running a strong write-in campaign. Her name is Lisa Esler.

The unofficial results are: Krueger-Braneky 4,791; Mullen 4,268; Esler and other write-ins 988. When this district voted in November 2014, the vote had been: Republican 12,916; Democratic 10,176.

In Pennsylvania special elections, there are no primaries; party meetings chose the nominees. For this special election, the Republican Party had picked a candidate who is friendly to labor unions, but many Republican activists were unhappy with that choice and organized a write-in campaign for another Republican.

In June, the New Jersey legislature passed AB 4613, which lets any voter cast a vote during the weeks before election day, provides for automatic registration for people who apply for drivers licenses unless they opt out, and makes it possible for 17-year-olds to pre-register.

New Jersey gives Governors a long period in which to decide whether to sign, veto, or amend bills. Governor Chris Christie must decide whether to approve this bill by August 13, if the legislature is in session that day. But if the legislature is not in session that day, he can wait until it is in session. No one knows yet whether the legislature will be in session that day.