Austin MUD loses Voting Rights Act challenge

http://www.statesman.com/news/content/news/stories/local/05/31/0531voting.html">AAS 5/31/08
Austin MUD loses Voting Rights Act challenge
Group did not want pre-clearance to move a voting location out of a garage.

An Austin water utility that hoped to overturn parts of the Voting Rights Act lost in federal court Friday.

The Northwest Austin Municipal Utility District No. 1 had claimed that the Constitution bans a key component of the Voting Rights Act. Under the act, communities in states with a history of racial discrimination must get federal permission before changing how they conduct their elections.

The court ruled Friday that the requirement is, in fact, constitutional.

Six years ago, the utility district's board of directors wanted to move its polling place from a garage into a school, hoping to increase turnout among the district's 3,500 members. But to do so, the district wound up having to ask the Justice Department for permission, which required a lawyer and $1,250 in legal fees.