SCOTUS turns down voting law challenge

WASHINGTON, April 1 (UPI) -- The U.S. Supreme Court declined Monday to hear a voting rights case in Texas on whether undocumented immigrants can be considered in creating voting districts.

The case, Lepak vs. City of Irving, centers on whether it was correct to draw city council districts using total population, a figure that includes Hispanics who cannot vote, or limit district sizes to only eligible voters, SCOTUSBlog.com said.

One practical implication of the policy is that some council members in Irving, Texas, represent areas considerably larger in population than others.

In issuing its decision on which cases to hear moving forward, the court only slated one new case for a decision. It aims to clarify a dispute in precedent in two cases in which lawsuits between two companies in different states should be heard and at whether they should be heard in state or federal courts.

The justices took no action on Elmbrook School District vs. Doe for a second time. The suit was filed on behalf of a student challenging the location of his public high school's commencement ceremony, which was held at a local church.