POSTED: Thursday, July 25, 2013 - 9:16am
UPDATED: Monday, November 18, 2013 - 10:22am
The U.S. Justice Department will seek a federal court order to force Texas to return to pre-clearing any changes to its voting laws.
U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder made the announcement today (Thursday) during a speech in Philadelphia. The move comes after the Supreme Court struck down a key provision of the 1965 Voting Rights Act last month. It required Texas and other southern states with a history of voter discrimination to get federal approval before making voting changes.
The ruling invalidated the formula the federal government used to determine which states or local jurisdictions could remain under special federal oversight.
Holder says the Obama Administration will use a different section of the voting rights act to support its case. Federal authorities must prove "purposeful" discrimination in order to ask a judge to order Texas to comply.