Texas: LULAC objects to runoff falling on feast day of the Virgin of Guadalupe
AP reports: A Latino group is objecting to the Dec. 12 Texas congressional runoff election date set by Republican Gov. Rick Perry, saying it's a GOP attempt to "suppress" Hispanic votes by allowing too little time to mobilize and because it falls on a holy day.
A Perry spokeswoman said the governor was merely complying with a court order to set the earliest date possible in the race between Republican Rep. Henry Bonilla and Democrat Ciro Rodriguez. They're seeking the U.S. House seat in a district that was redrawn after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled the congressional map violated Latinos' voting rights.
A runoff was necessary because none of the eight candidates had 50 percent of the vote in the Nov. 7 election. Bonilla won 49 percent and Rodriguez had 20 percent. ...
Dec. 12 is the feast day of the Virgin of Guadalupe. Some Latino communities in the district that stretches over a large swath of West and southwest Texas and part of San Antonio attend processions, Mass and family gatherings to honor the day celebrating the appearance of the Virgin before Indian peasant Juan Diego in Mexico in 1531. -- Star-Telegram.com | 11/22/2006 | Latino group objects to congressional runoff date