Senator Eliot Shapleigh - El Paso, Texas

Opponents of legislation that would restrict voting in future El Paso Water Improvement District No. 1 elections are to hold a rally Friday.

Among those participating are Sen. Eliot Shapleigh (D-El Paso), Rep. Norma Chávez (D-El Paso), Socorro Mayor Guillermo Gandara, Jr., the Texas Civil Rights Project, the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund, the American Civil Liberties Union, Unlock Your Vote, National LULAC, the United Farm Workers, and EPISO.

The groups are opposing House Bill 2012, authored by Rep. Chente Quintanilla (D-Tornillo), and Senate Bill 547, authored by Sen. Frank Madla (D-San Antonio).

"The proposed legislation is reminiscent of the poll tax days, when registered voters were required to pay a tax in order to vote. We stopped that kind of backward and racist thinking, and we will stop it again," Chavez said. "The legislation is a brutal intimidation tactic designed to keep voters from voting in elections that directly impact the water that the people of El Paso drink."

Shapleigh was equally as scathing about the legislation.

"All El Paso should know what's behind this bill," Shapleigh said. "Three families and their lawyers have run the water district for 26 years. The District controls half of all our water. Last year, the Board had real contested elections for the first time ever. So their response is to eliminate 75,000 people from voter rolls, and intimidate the remaining few with an inspection and registration at headquarters. That is how the same three families plan to keep control for another 26 years. Forty years after the passage of the Voting Rights Act, our government institutions should no longer be fiefdoms for the privileged few."

Under the legislation, registered voters must register a second time with the El Paso Water Improvement District No. 1 60 days prior to an election for water district directors. The bill would also deny voting rights to those who do not own land with water rights.

About 170,000 people live in El Paso Water District Improvement District No. 1, which covers 69,010 acres from the New Mexico state line to the Hudspeth County line. The district was created in 1917 and currently provides all registered voters living within the region the right to vote in the special district elections.

At a House Natural Resources Committee meeting in March, board President Johnnie Stubbs testified that water district officials simply wanted to make sure that only water users who pay taxes and who have a vested interest determine policy and elect board members. Stubbs said he believed that 75,000 to 90,000 would retain the right to vote.

Asked where his legislation stood, Quintanilla told Border Buzz that "Madla's bill is the one that is moving." Quintanilla said similar voting arrangements had been set up a couple of years ago for a water district in Maverick County. "This is nothing new," he said.

The rally takes place at 5:30 p.m., Friday, May 6, at the offices of the El Paso County Water Improvement District No. 1 at 294 Candelaria, El Paso.

The rally is also being supported by the Camino Real Mexican American Democrats, Tejano Democrats El Paso, West Texas Coalition of Motorcycle Clubs, Sin Fronteras Farm Worker Center, UTEP & NMSU MECHA's, Lower Valley Neighborhood Association, Valle Bajo Association, Republican National Hispanic Assembly, Texas Conservative Coalition and ACORN.