voting rights

background

  • methods for black Americans to gain rights:

    • direct action

    • passage through Congress of key legislation including the Voting Rights Act

    • litigation through the courts

    • politicians’ efforts esp @state level

      • to support ability of minority groups to vote in elections

shelby county v holder (2013)

  • the preclearance formula struck down as unconstitutional

    • had meant that any state had to gain federal clearance before making changes to any of their voting laws/practices

  • Chief Justice Roberts noted ‘coverage today is based on decades-old data and eradicated practices’

  • while racial disparity in voter registration n turnout was compelling evidence for preclearance remedy in 1965, ‘there is no longer such disparity’

impact of the ruling

  • Texas announced voter id law within days of ruling

    • had previously been blocked

  • Obama ‘deeply disappointed’ by the ruling, called on Congress to draw up a new formula for determining whether or not states’ voter laws were racially discriminatory

  • voter turnout amongst black voters over past 40 years:

    • 1980 » 50% of eligible black voters went to polls

    • 2012 » 66.6% “ “

      • compared to 64% of eligible white voters, 48% of eligible Hispanic voters

developments since the ruling

  • 9 states introduced photo ID requirement for all voters prior to 2016 election

  • states included high proportions of black voters who were disproportionately affected as statistically less likely to vote

    • alabama

    • mississipi

    • south carolina

    • tennessee

    • texas

    • virginia

recent evidence

brennan centre article:

  • racial turnout gap nearly closed in 2008

    • part of 40y/o trend that began with the civil rights revolution of the 1960s inc 1965 Voting Rights Act

    • progress now reversing - hugely due to 2013 Supreme Court decision

      • Shelby County v Holder

  • at least 14 states have since passed 17 restrictive voting laws - 2022 -2023

    • 6 states have criminalised minor voting infringements

    • mississipi: crime to assist another voter w/ mail-in ballot

      • allows voter purge without safeguards

    • idaho: removed student id for allowed id

  • 2022 elections: white-Black turnout gap in formerly covered regions was 5 percentage points higher than it would have been had the Voting Rights Act remained in effect

  • racial turnout gap growing 2x as quickly in the regions that had previously been covered by preclearance legislation

guardian article:

  • Within days of Shelby v Holder (2013):

    • Texas announced a prev-blocked voter ID law wld go into effect and that states' redistricting maps wld no longer need federal approval (Senate Bill 14 - tho struck down bc targeted POC, reinstated w/ Senate Bill 5).

    • And Arizona - proof of citizenship needed at state/local lvl - dual registration process for that and presidential elections...

    • North Carolina unsuccessfully attempted to impose restrictive voter ID laws

  • 2012-18: 1688 polling places closed in states prev covered by Section 5 of VRA, 214 of these in Georgia

exam question

“evaluate the view that civil rights are adequately protected by the Supreme Court”

p1: lots of rights are explicitly mentioned in the US Constitution and the Supreme Court enforces this

  • cp: judicial activism

p2: SC checks government power

  • cp: SC can’t enforce its rilings