Lawsuit Argued that Texas Minorities Mistakenly Passed a Ballot Initiative Due to Low Reading Abilities

Opponents of a ballot initiative in Austin, Texas believed that it only passed because it was too confusing to read. That's right - too confusing to read.

The ballot initiative is called Proposition 1, and it will raise property taxes to fund a new medical school and other health care projects.

The suit argues that minorities inadvertently voted for the ballot initiative because they “have lower reading comprehension than whites.”  Don Zimmerman, treasurer of the Travis County Taxpayers Union political action committee and his lawyer Stephen Casey believe the ballot initiative violated the Voting Rights Act.

Check out the language of the Texas ballot initiative below:

Typically lawsuits brought under the Voting Rights Act are initiated by groups being prevented from voting for illegal reasons such as Voter ID requirements and English proficiency tests. However, these plaintiffs allege that minorities were at a disadvantage as compared to whites because of their level of reading compression.

The Judge in the case denied a request for an injunction against this ballot measure.

Read more.