September 25, 2014 3:20 PM

The next AG unlikely to let up on Texas in Voting Rights fight

A new US Attorney General may have subtle differences in style but probably few differences in priorities

The resignation of Attorney General Eric Holder is imminent, and his replacement is in the wings, but that turn of events is unlikely to unhinge the Department of Justice’s tenacious teeth from dragging Texas back under the Voting Rights Act.

At the recent National Conference of State Legislatures conference in Minneapolis, Lisa Soronen of the DC-based State and Local Legal Center said Texas, Georgia and South Carolina were in the DOJ’s crosshairs to bring back under pre-clearance conditions. Contacted this morning, Soronen had not changed her opinion.

“My gut says no,” Soronen said. “His successor might have a slightly different focus, but the voting rights commitment is not going to change.”

By Kimberly Reeves