Good morning, 

Here is the Texas Minute for Thursday, May 16, 2024.

– Sydnie Henry 

Galveston Voting Rights Case Could Cost Texas Democrats Seats

• A voting rights lawsuit that could cost Texas Democrats seats across all levels of government received a hearing by the full Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans. Erin Anderson has the story. 
   
• Galveston County contends that the Voting Rights Act does not protect coalition districts—which represent political, not racial, alliances—nor does it guarantee that Democrats will be elected, a position already held by other federal courts.
   
• If Galveston County prevails in its challenge to coalition districts, Democrats in Texas, Louisiana, and Mississippi (states covered by the Fifth Circuit) stand to lose seats at the local, state, and congressional level.
   
• "Like everything this administration touches, the Biden DOJ’s decision to sue Galveston County is yet another blunder that could ultimately lead to hamstringing the Democratic Party’s ability to control Congress." - Galveston County Judge Mark Henry.

Texas Asks Court to Halt Biden’s Title IX Rewrite

• Attorney General Ken Paxton has filed a motion to halt enforcement of the Biden administration’s Title IX rewrite that allows boys into girls’ spaces. Emily Medeiros has the story. 
   
• The nearly 1,500-page rewrite of Title IX rules—the federal civil rights law designed to prohibit sex-based discrimination in education—would add “gender identity” as a protected class. It would also force schools to allow biological males to use female spaces. If a school refuses to comply, federal funding would be withheld. 
   
• Paxton has filed a motion for a preliminary injunction to postpone the final rule’s effective date, August 1, while the lawsuit is ongoing.
   
• "Texas is asking the court to put an immediate stop to Biden’s outrageous, unlawful assault on women’s rights. Biden cannot violate the Constitution to subvert Title IX protections for women in his effort to accommodate the fringe demands of ‘transgender’ movement activists." - Ken Paxton

Lawsuit Challenges Texas Ethics Commission Targeting of Grassroots Organization

• The Liberty in Action Network, based in Kerrville, is asking a federal court to halt the TEC’s secretive "sworn complaint" practice, claiming a lack of due process. Luca Cacciatore has the story. 
   
• The group's voterguide came under fire for failing to include the word "for" between the candidates’ names and offices sought.
   
• A rival organization, Kerrville Forward PAC, filed a TEC complaint against the LIA Network, highlighting the potential violation and prompting the state agency to take action.
   
• Now, LIA is seeking redress from the courts.
   
• "It’s time that Texas stopped having 'secret speech police' who are unleashed (at taxpayer expense) by any political opportunist who wants to level charges against their enemies." - Attorney Tony McDonald

Biden Administration Attempts to Assert Control Over Border Island

• After Texas secured Fronton Island from the Mexican cartels, the Biden administration is now saying that the land is federal property. 
   
• The 170-acre island situated in the Rio Grande between Starr County and Mexico was known to be a hotspot for Mexican cartel trafficking.
   
• Land Commissioner Dawn Buckingham certified the island as state-owned property last fall. She posted to X that Texas will not hand over ownership of the island. 
   
• "Texas has stepped up, and we have no intention of relinquishing our claim of ownership of Fronton Island." - Dawn Buckingham

Runoff Preview: Schoolcraft & Kuempel Face Off for House District 44

• Will Biagini previews the primary runoff race between incumbent John Kuempel and challenger Alan Schoolcraft for the district east of San Antonio.

Quote-Unquote

It is no exaggeration to say that without [the Republic of Texas Navy] there would probably have been no Lone Star Republic and possibly the State of Texas would still be part of Mexico.

– Theodore Roosevelt, Jr.

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