Florida governor turns Voting Rights Act rule on its head

[cal04]

Gov. Rick Scott is using the pre-clearance rule, which requires that the Justice Department OK changes in voting law in some states, to delay enforcement of a voter initiative that bars partisan gerrymandering.
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-florida-voting-20110210,0,4199031.story

Since the 1960s, state and local officials in the South have been required by law to seek advance approval from the Justice Department in Washington before making changes in their election rules, a legacy of the era when blacks were denied the right to vote.

But in an unusual twist, new Florida Gov. Rick Scott, a Republican, is using the pre-clearance requirement in the Voting Rights Act to stall enforcement of a voter-approved initiative that bars partisan gerrymandering.

Longtime champions of voting rights are crying foul.

"This is a bizarre situation. It turns the law on its head" because it uses a reform law to block a reform measure, said Laughlin McDonald, director of the ACLU's Voting Rights Project in Atlanta.

[lib2DaBone]

1. Medicare thief and fascist (P)Rick Scott at his best.....

He will tear Florida apart into tiny shreds... while the Tea Party nuts look on..

[ProgressiveProfessor]

2. The Voting Rights Act is indeed race neutral in its wording