Veasey et al v. Abbott et al

Filing 895

ORDER REGARDING AGREED INTERIM PLAN FOR ELECTIONS. Defendants shall develop a detailed election training program for the November 2016 general election no later than August 15, 2016. (Signed by Judge Nelva Gonzales Ramos) Parties notified.(lcayce, 2)

United States District Court
Southern District of Texas

ENTERED
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF TEXAS
CORPUS CHRISTI DIVISION
MARC VEASEY, et al,
Plaintiffs,
VS.
GREG ABBOTT, et al,
Defendants.

August 10, 2016
David J. Bradley, Clerk

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§ CIVIL ACTION NO. 2:13-CV-00193
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ORDER REGARDING AGREED INTERIM PLAN FOR ELECTIONS
The Court has considered the Joint Submission of Agreed Terms (D.E. 877) as
revised (D.E. 893), reflecting the agreement of the parties regarding certain terms of an
interim plan by which the November 8, 2016 election shall be conducted. After due
consideration, the Court ORDERS Defendants Greg Abbott, in his Official Capacity as
Governor of Texas; Carlos Cascos, Texas Secretary of State; State of Texas; and Steve
McCraw, in his Official Capacity as Director of the Texas Department of Public Safety to
abide by, and implement, the following agreed terms for the November 8, 2016 election:
1. Voters who appear on the official list of registered voters and present
documentation that is acceptable photo identification under Section 63.0101 of
the Texas Election Code (SB 14 ID) or SB 14 ID that has expired by no more
than four years shall be permitted to vote using a regular ballot.
2. Voters who appear on the official list of registered voters and present a valid
voter registration certificate, a certified birth certificate, a current utility bill, a
bank statement, a government check, a paycheck, or any other government
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document that displays the voter’s name and address and complete and sign a
reasonable impediment declaration shall be permitted to vote using a regular
ballot.
3. Defendants shall use the document attached to this Order as Exhibit 1 as the
English-language reasonable impediment declaration.
4. Defendants shall ensure that the reasonable impediment declaration is
translated into Spanish, Chinese, and Vietnamese for use in appropriate
jurisdictions. Defendants shall also inform the Elections Administrators in El
Paso County and Maverick County in writing of the need to include the
reasonable impediment declaration in the list of documents that need to be
orally translated in accordance with Section 203 of the Voting Rights Act, 52
U.S.C. § 10503.
5. The reasonableness of a voter’s impediment to obtain SB 14 ID shall not be
questioned by election officials.
6. After asking a voter if he or she has SB 14 ID, election officials shall not
question or challenge voters concerning the voter’s lack of SB 14 ID and the
voter’s claimed impediment to obtaining SB 14 ID prior to allowing a voter to
cast a regular ballot with a reasonable impediment declaration.
7. A signed reasonable impediment declaration shall be rejected only upon
conclusive evidence that the person completing the declaration is not the
person in whose name the ballot will be cast.

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8. No identification document provided pursuant to Paragraphs 1 or 2 shall be
rejected based on the fact that the address on such document does not match
the address recorded in the official list of registered voters.
9. Pursuant to Section 33.058 of the Texas Election Code, poll watchers shall not
be permitted to communicate in any manner with any voter concerning the
procedures outlined in this Order, presentation of identification, or the validity
of a voter’s impediment to obtain identification.
10. Defendants shall develop a detailed voter education plan, including timetables,
for the November 2016 general election by no later than August 15, 2016.
This plan shall include a statement of the total planned expenditure, in an
amount equal to or greater than $2,500,000.
11. Commencing with any elections held after the entry of this Order and until
further order of the Court, Defendants shall continue to educate voters in
subsequent elections concerning both voter identification requirements and the
opportunity for voters who do not possess SB 14 ID and cannot reasonably
obtain it to cast a regular ballot.
12. Defendants shall develop a detailed election official training program for the
November 2016 general election by no later than August 15, 2016.
13. Defendants shall not modify the English-language reasonable impediment
declaration attached to this Order as Exhibit 1 without either submission of a
Notice to this Court including both a copy of the document and a statement

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indicating that all Plaintiffs have consented to the modification or an order of
this Court.
14. These procedures shall remain in place until further order of this Court.
Nothing in this order shall prevent any party from seeking relief based on
future events, including but not limited to legislative action.
These terms contemplate the formulation of a plan for educating voters and
training election workers, the details of which may be addressed in one or more future
orders. This is an agreed interim remedy only and the parties preserve their rights to seek
or oppose future relief. The parties do not waive any arguments regarding, or forfeit their
right to appellate review of, any issue not agreed upon by the parties for purposes of an
interim remedy.
ORDERED this 10th day of August, 2016.
___________________________________
NELVA GONZALES RAMOS
UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE

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REASONABLE IMPEDIMENT DECLARATION
Instructions: If a voter appears on the official list of registered voters, but does not possess an
acceptable form of photo identification—under Section 63.0101 of the Texas Election Code (SB 14 ID) or
SB 14 ID that has expired by no more than four years—due to a reasonable impediment, the following
steps shall be taken by the election officer to allow the voter to cast a regular ballot:
1. Present this form to the voter, and ask the voter to provide one of the following
forms of identification:
a. a valid voter registration certificate (if on Election Day, the voter registration
certificate indicates that the voter is appearing at the incorrect polling place, the
voter should be directed to the correct polling place);
b. a certified birth certificate (must be an original); or
c. a copy or original of a current utility bill, bank statement, government check,
paycheck, or other government document that shows the voter’s name and an
address (with the exception that a government document containing a
photograph must be an original). NOTE: The address on this document is not
required to match the address recorded in the official list of registered voters.
2. Ask the voter to complete this form by entering their name, and then ask them to
review the “Voter’s Declaration of Reasonable Impediment or Difficulty,” indicate their
impediment or difficulty, and sign their name.
3. Ask the voter to return the completed form to you. You may not question the voter
concerning the reasonableness of any claimed impediment or the truth of the declaration.
The election judge should enter the date and then sign on the space provided on the
declaration.
4. Either you or the election judge should indicate on the “To Be Completed By Election
Official” form what type of document the voter provided by checking the appropriate box.
Either you or the election judge should fill in the Date of Election and Location fields.
5. Allow the voter to cast a regular ballot.

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REASONABLE IMPEDIMENT DECLARATION
TO BE
TO BE COMPLETED BY VOTER

Name:

VOTER’S DECLARATION OF REASONABLE IMPEDIMENT OR DIFFICULTY
By signing this declaration, I swear or affirm under penalty of perjury that I am the same individual
who personally appeared at the polling place, that I am casting a ballot while voting in-person, and I
face a reasonable impediment or difficulty that prevents me from getting an acceptable form of photo
identification.
My reasonable impediment or difficulty is due to the following
reason(s): (Check at least one box below)
Lack of transportation

Disability or illness

Lack of birth certificate or other documents needed to obtain acceptable photo ID
Work schedule

Family responsibilities

Lost or stolen photo ID

Photo ID applied for but not received

Other reasonable impediment or difficulty
The reasonableness of your impediment or difficulty cannot be questioned.

X
Signature of Voter
Sworn to and subscribed before me this
day of
Presiding Judge

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_, 20

Date

TO BE COMPLETED BY ELECTION OFFICIAL
The voter provided one of the following forms of identification or information:
Valid Voter Registration certificate; or
A copy or original of one of the following was provided:
certified birth certificate (must be an original)
current utility bill
bank statement
government check
other government document that shows the voter’s name and an address (with the
exception of a government document containing a photograph which must be an
original)
paycheck
Location: ________________________
Date of Election: ______________________________

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