Federal court: "overt racial discrimination persist"

The US Court of Appeals in Washington DC has upheld the preclearance
requirement under Section 5 of the 1965 Voting Rights Act (VRA). In a 2-1 decision the court found (in a challenge brought by Shelby County, Alabama) that “overt racial discrimination persists” in the covered jurisdictions - which includes 9 states and dozens of counties and municipalities that were found to have used discriminatory devices in the past to prevent minorities from voting. “Several categories of evidence in the record support Congress’s conclusion that intentional racial discrimination in voting remains so serious and widespread in covered jurisdictions that Section 5 preclearance is still needed,” wrote Judge David Tatel. The Voting Rights Act is “a cornerstone” of civil rights law, and the department will fight constitutional challenges to it” said Justice Department spokeswoman Xochitl Hinojosa.

President George W. Bush at the 2006 VRA reauthorization signing ceremony. Google Images

　

There is a concerted move on by right leaning political organizations and Republican politicians to present legal challenges to the preclearance requirement. The states of Texas, South Carolina and Mississippi have passed voter ID laws (either legislatively or by referendum) that triggered legal challenges by the US Department of Justice and/or from public interest organizations such as the NAACP. The hope of these organizations and GOP politicians is to get the issue before the US Supreme Court, where the conservative leaning majority may vote to strike down the preclearance provision. See: The Nation

The Voting Rights Act was first signed into law by President Lyndon Johnson and has been renewed and/or amended by Congress on several occasions. The most recent 25 year reauthorization of the VRA was signed by President George W. Bush in 2006.

by Brent Scott, Exe. Dir. VBMA