Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act prohibits governments in certain states from changing any election laws or rules without getting U.S. Justice Department permission. In 1994, in a 5-4 decision, the U.S. Supreme Court had ruled that section 5 of the Voting Rights Act also covers political parties in those states.
On August 25, a 3-judge U.S. District Court in San Antonio ruled that, therefore, the Texas Democratic Party should have requested Justice Department permission in 2007, when it changes its rules on choosing delegates to national conventions. Here is the 25-page decision, Lulac of Texas v Texas Democratic Party, 5:08-cv-389. The opinion is by U.S. Court of Appeals Judge Edward C. Prado, a Bush Jr. appointee. It was signed by two U.S. District Court judges, Judge Fred Biery (a Clinton appointee) and Judge Xavier Rodriguez (a Bush Jr. appointee). Judge Biery wrote a short concurrence which seems to be expressing the hope that the U.S. Supreme Court will become involved in this case. Thanks to ElectionLawBlog for the link.
The decision emphasizes that political parties do enjoy rights to autonomy, but the decision stresses that, so far, the Texas Democratic Party has not produced any evidence to show that its freedom of association will be injured if it must seek permission from the Justice Department. The party is free, under the Voting Rights Act, to ask for a 3-judge U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., to approve its changes, rather than seeking approval from the Justice Department.