The Stars Align

Well it seems that the stars are aligning for a new, and single, April 3^rd Texas Primary Election. If this happens a condition foreseen in my past musings over this truly foul situation will be averted. That being the nomination of the truly crazy to public office.

The federal judge panel in DC who will decide whether to preclear the recently passed voter ID law, essentially whether or not to agree that it does not violate the Voting Rights Act, have set a trial date. The trial will run between January 17^th and January 26^th 2012.

Meanwhile back in San Antonio, another federal judge panel heard testimony from various elections officials about whether to hold one primary or two. It was just about unanimous among the witnesses that holding two primaries would be unjustifiably costly to the counties and to the state.

Costly at a time when budgets are being slashed.

The Travis County Clerk testified to this effect and offered a solution: move the primary date back. County Clerk Dana DeBeauvoir suggested an April 3^rd primary date, a date that depends on everything being settled by January 28^th.  And now from the look of it from the DC end, it will be settled by then.

Unless the Supreme Court kicks some dust into the air and re-sabotages the whole process.

Now here is one thing I am hoping. I am hoping that Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor does not recuse herself in this hearing on the redrawn district maps scheduled for early January. She did that recently, I think to provide an example for Justice Clarence Thomas about when and where it is appropriate to recuse himself from the lawsuit challenging the Affordable Healthcare Act, an act his wife openly opposes.

I am hoping that Justice Sotomayor looks beyond the fact that she is Latina, and the Voter ID law passed by the Texas legislature is openly anti Hispanic.