Effects of the Voting Rights Act in Texas: Perceptions of County Election Administrators

Texas county election administrators view the Voting RightsAct negatively, but acknowledge that the act affects their decisionsabout election administration. The VRA is also seen as costlyand not contributing to citizen participation; however, onlya small percentage of the survey sample reported on here wouldeliminate the VRA. Although there is hostility expressed aboutfederal government intrusion in local affairs, there is compliancewith the VRA by local election officials. The number of Texassubmissions and U.S. Attorney General objections to electionchanges is sizable when compared with other states covered bythe VRA. Federal objections to some election law changes haveresulted in the election of minority public officials. Texas'Section 5 objections are evidence of a history of voter discrimination.     

AN EXPLORATORY STUDY OF SUPERVISED ACCESS AND CUSTODY EXCHANGE SERVICES

An exploratory outcome study to investigate the ability of a supervised access and custody exchange center to function as a safe visitation enforcement mechanism of the court was accomplished as part of a larger study investigating child well-being. During a 6-month period of program participation, frequency and consistency of noncustodial parents' access to children dramatically increased and interparental conflict significantly decreased, demonstrating that supervised visitation and custody exchange centers that function in partnership with family court during interim court processes can address the unmet needs of family court and high-conflict domestic disputant as well.