A Voting-Rights Case to Watch

Hans von Spakovsky / April 28, 2010

Roger Clegg and I recently reported on the lawsuit filed in the first week of April on behalf of residents of Kinston, N.C., contesting the constitutionality of Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act. Section 5 is the supposedly temporary “emergency” measure first passed in 1965 that requires states like Alabama to submit any voting changes, no matter how minor, to the Justice Department or a three-judge panel in the District of Columbia for approval before they can take effect. A second lawsuit was filed yesterday by Shelby County, Alabama (complaint can be found here).

Ed Blum of the Project on Fair Representation is providing the resources for this lawsuit. The same organization was behind Northwest Austin Municipal Utility District No. One v. Holder, which was decided last term by the U.S. Supreme Court; the Court avoided the constitutional issue, ruling for NAMUDO on alternative statutory grounds under Section 5. (more…)