Texas Republicans threaten to arrest Democrats who left state to block redistricting bill
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Hill
5 minutes ago
- The Hill
Trump touts ruling upholding ID number check for Texas mail-in ballots
President Trump early Tuesday touted an appeals court ruling upholding Texas's requirement that voters to provide a driver's license or other identification number for their mail ballot to be counted. 'THIS IS GREAT NEWS!!! Should be Nationwide!!! President DJT' Trump wrote on Truth Social. A three-judge panel on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit unanimously ruled on Monday the requirement does not violate a provision of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prevents states from denying a person's right to vote over paperwork errors that are not 'material.' 'The number-matching requirements are obviously designed to confirm that every mail-in voter is indeed who he claims he is. And that is plainly material to determining whether an individual is qualified to vote,' wrote U.S. Circuit Judge James Ho, rejecting the argument. Ho was joined on the panel by U.S. Circuit Judge Don Willett, both Trump appointees, and U.S. Circuit Judge Patrick Higginbotham, an appointee of former President Reagan. In Texas, voters can vote by mail if they meet certain criteria, like being disabled or age 65 or older. The state's Republican-controlled legislature passed the new check in 2021 as part of a broader election integrity bill, S.B. 1. It requires voters to provide a state identification number or the last four digits of their Social Security number on their mail-in ballot application and ballot envelope. Clerks reject ballots that don't comply. The Biden administration and several civil rights groups filed lawsuits soon after the law's enactment. Texas and the Republican National Committee appealed to the 5th Circuit after U.S. District Judge Xavier Rodriguez Jr. blocked Texas from enforcing the requirement. An appointee of the second former President Bush, Rodriguez ruled that the number-matching requirement violates the Civil Rights Act because it is not material to a voter's eligibility. The 5th Circuit's decision reverses that finding, ruling that the materiality provision only covers voter eligibility determinations and not mail-in ballots. 'The 2021 Act easily complies with the materiality provision in any event,' Ho wrote.
Business Insider
6 minutes ago
- Business Insider
What this attack submarine sidelined for a decade says about the US Navy's maintenance failures
Sidelined for over ten years now, the attack submarine USS Boise has become one of the clearest and most damning examples of the US Navy's maintenance problems. The Los Angeles-class sub came up during the confirmation hearing of Adm. Daryl Caudle, President Donald Trump's pick for top admiral. The Senate recently confirmed him as the new chief of naval operations. Last month, Caudle responded to fresh concerns about the Boise and questions of whether it might be time to scrap the boat. He told the US Senate Armed Services Committee that if he were confirmed, he'd look hard at the Boise's situation. "The decision whether or not to actually walk away from Boise is a big one, and I want to make sure I clearly understand the trajectory and trends," Caudle said, responding to a question from Sen. Mike Rounds, a South Dakota Republican who had asked him if it was time to "just simply pull the plug on that one." "I hear you loud and clear, senator, on how unacceptable it is, how long she's been in the yards," the admiral said. He added that the Boise's delays were "a dagger in my heart as a submarine officer." Caudle previously served as commander on three nuclear-powered submarines and was the commander of Submarine Forces Atlantic and Submarine Forces, US Pacific Fleet. The Boise and the larger US Navy shipbuilding and maintenance issues were major topics of conversation in Caudle's hearing. The Boise was originally launched in 1991 and conducted operations until early 2015, when it wrapped up its last patrol and docked at Naval Station Norfolk for scheduled repairs. Limited dry dock availability and workforce capacity left the Boise and its crew waiting. In 2016, the vessel lost its ability to perform unrestricted operations, and then it lost its dive certification in the following year. Those developments were then followed by more waiting, leaving the valuable combat asset out of action. In 2019, then- US Secretary of Defense Mark Esper visited the Boise and praised the crew for maintaining "readiness and lethality" as the vessel was still standing by for repairs. In February 2024, the Navy awarded prominent shipbuilder Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII) a $1.2 billion contract to begin an engineering overhaul on the Boise. The work is expected to be completed by 2029, meaning the ship will not have set sail on a patrol for roughly 15 years by the time it's finished. That's a staggering waste of an expensive, front-line asset. Even when the work is done, the ship will be nearing the end of its service life. The Boise has thus emerged as an example of overstretched and under-resourced shipyards, insufficient planning, and the challenges of budget instabilities that affect Navy readiness. The sea service did not immediately respond to request for comment from Business Insider. Work on US nuclear-powered submarines is typically handled by one of the Navy's four public shipyards, which have seen dramatic demands in recent decades due to a lack of investment in maintenance from the Navy and the increased complexity of the subs and nuclear-powered aircraft carriers, Bryan Clark, a retired Navy submarine officer and defense expert at the Hudson Institute, told Business Insider. A "combination of factors created a huge backlog at the shipyards," Clark said. The long tail of COVID-19 disruptions, particularly for supply chains and labor pools, added strain to Navy shipyards in the early 2020s. In more recent years, experts have pointed to persistent workforce shortages, uneven investment, and inconsistent Navy planning as critical causes of ongoing delays in major shipbuilding programs and maintenance backlogs. The Navy's long-standing struggles with routine maintenance stretch back decades, with challenges including persistent shipyard bottlenecks, limited dry dock availability, troubling scheduling missteps, workforce shortages, unreliable or inconsistent maintenance data, and unforeseen issues that tend to emerge during repairs and cause significant delays. Supply chain problems and shortages of spare parts and critical materials have also added to the strain. These issues, combined with broader weaknesses in the Navy's shipbuilding enterprise, have raised concerns within the service and on Capitol Hill about the fleet's size and overall readiness, particularly as the US emphasizes the need to deter or, if necessary, fight a potential conflict with a major power like China, which has far greater shipbuilding and repair capacity.
Newsweek
6 minutes ago
- Newsweek
Trump Hails Major Court Win in Texas: 'Should be Nationwide'
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. President Donald Trump has welcomed a federal appeals court decision allowing Texas to enforce its 2021 law requiring voters to include an identification number with mail-in ballots, and called for similar measures across the United States. A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit on Monday unanimously reversed a lower court ruling that had blocked the law. The panel concluded that the statute did not violate federal voting protections under the 1964 Civil Rights Act. Trump wrote on his social media platform Truth Social: "THIS IS GREAT NEWS!!! Should be Nationwide!!!" A 95-year-old World War II veteran stated that he had two of his mail-in ballots denied because of incomplete voter registration. However, he is unable to register online in his home state of Texas, and... A 95-year-old World War II veteran stated that he had two of his mail-in ballots denied because of incomplete voter registration. However, he is unable to register online in his home state of Texas, and as a result, may miss out on voting in the upcoming election for the first time in his life. More iStock/Getty Why It Matters The court's decision marks a significant win for Texas Republicans and could influence how elections are conducted in multiple states. Supporters, including Texas officials and Trump, argue that requiring ID numbers is a practical measure to prevent voter fraud and strengthen election security. Civil rights organizations counter that the law risks disqualifying legitimate ballots, particularly from elderly, disabled and minority voters who rely more heavily on mail-in ballots. Legal experts say the ruling could shape national debates on voting rights and regulations ahead of the 2026 midterm elections. What To Know The Fifth Circuit's decision overturns a 2023 ruling by U.S. District Judge Xavier Rodriguez, who had blocked the law, finding that ID numbers were not relevant to determining voter eligibility under Texas law. Monday's ruling allows the state to enforce the 2021 law requiring voters submitting mail-in ballots to provide either their driver's license number, state identification number, or the last four digits of their Social Security number. Ballots missing this information or containing mismatched numbers can be rejected by election officials. Civil rights groups including OCA-Greater Houston, the League of Women Voters of Texas and REVUP-Texas plus the Biden administration had challenged the law, saying that the requirements could cause legitimate ballots to be discarded due to minor administrative errors. Newsweek has contacted the OCA-Greater Houston, the League of Women Voters of Texas and REVUP-Texas for comment. The plaintiffs argued that rejecting ballots for missing or mismatched ID numbers violated the "materiality provision" of the 1964 Civil Rights Act, which states that no one can be denied the right to vote due to an error or omission that is not material to determining voter eligibility. The published opinion was authored by Trump appointees Judge James Ho and Judge Don Willett and Reagan appointee Judge Patrick Higginbotham. Judge Ho noted that requiring only names and addresses left the mail-in ballot system vulnerable to fraud because that information is publicly available, and stated that requiring ID numbers is material to confirming a voter's identity and eligibility. At the time Senate Bill 1 was signed into law, supporters—including Republican lawmakers and Texas Governor Greg Abbott—said the measure was essential to ensuring election security. Abbott said it "ensures trust and confidence in our elections system—and most importantly, it makes it easier to vote and harder to cheat." However, multiple fact-checking and academic studies suggest that documented incidents of mail-in ballot fraud are extremely rare. According to data from the Brennan Center for Justice, only 491 cases of absentee ballot fraud were identified between 2000 and 2012 out of billions of votes cast. What People Are Saying Judge James Ho wrote in the opinion: "The number-matching requirements are obviously designed to confirm that every mail-in voter is who he claims he is. And that is plainly material to determining whether an individual is qualified to vote." He added: "That information is easily available to anyone who simply requests it.... As a result, any person can request and receive that information about a registered voter, use that information to apply for a mail-in ballot, and then cast the ballot, with minimal risk of detection." What Happens Next Texas has some of the nation's strictest voting rules, allowing mail-in voting only for those over 65, individuals with disabilities, people in jail, or residents temporarily out of state. The 2021 identification number requirement adds another layer of verification for these ballots. The U.S. Department of Justice, which joined the lawsuit challenging the law, has not announced whether it will seek further review of the case.
