Fighting for Student Voting Rights in Waller County, TX

by Jonah Goldman

Prairie View A&M University (PVAMU) is a historically black college in Texas whose student body is about 90% African American. On November 10th 2003, in the local paper, The Waller Times, the Waller County District Attorney Oliver S. Kitzman threatened students at PVAMU with felony prosecution for "illegal voting" if they registered and voted at school.

The Lawyers' Committee, on behalf of students at PVAMU filed a lawsuit and preliminary injunction on February 5, 2004 to ensure that PVAMU students were able to freely exercise their fundamental right to vote. A second lawsuit was filed on February 17, 2004 in response to a decision by Waller County officials to reduce the number of days and hours of early voting for the primary. Waller County, like all jurisdictions in Texas, is forbidden by the Voting Rights Act from implementing any voting change without first demonstrating to the U.S. Department of Justice that the change does not worsen the position of minority voters. Waller County failed, however, to submit these changes for pre-clearance.

The case was settled on February 26, 2004. Mr. Kitzman apologized and released a statement encouraging Prairie View A&M University students to register and vote in Waller County. And in the Voting Rights Act enforcement case, the county was prevented from reducing the amount of early voting hours at polling places nearest campus.