Editorial Voting and Racial History

EditorialVoting and Racial HistoryNYTimes Published: January 26, 2012
Instead of ensuring that voting rights are extended to all Americans,
many state legislatures are engaged in efforts to shut out voters in
this election year, taking aim at young people, immigrants and
minorities.

Related
Times Topic: Voting Rights Act (1965)
Last week, a panel of judges on the United States Court of Appeals for
the District of Columbia heard a case that could eviscerate the
ability of the federal government to prevent racial discrimination in
voting. The issue in Shelby County v. Holder involves Section 5 of the
1965 Voting Rights Act, which requires that jurisdictions with
flagrant histories of racial discrimination in voting must get
permission from the Justice Department or a federal court before
making any changes in their voting rules or laws.

Shelby County, Ala., one of those jurisdictions, contends that Section
5 intrudes unconstitutionally on the sovereign authority of states. It
argues that while the preclearance rule was justified when the
country, especially the South, was ending legal segregation, it is no
longer needed. That argument was properly dismissed in a 151-page
opinion by Judge John Bates of Federal District Court, who ruled that
the discrimination that led to passage and extensions of the Voting
Rights Act endures. The appeals court should uphold his decision.

The case is important because in 2009, by a 8-to-1 vote, the Supreme
Court said there are "serious constitutional questions" about whether
Section 5 meets a current need, although the justices did not answer
those questions at that time. Chief Justice John Roberts Jr., writing
for the majority, left some legal experts with the impression that the
court had come close to striking down Section 5. Fortunately, it did
not do so.

When Congress nearly unanimously reauthorized the Voting Rights Act in
2006, it relied on abundant evidence that there is still pervasive,
persistent, even Jim Crow-style voting discrimination in the South and
elsewhere — including in Shelby County and other parts of Alabama.
Without Section 5's preclearance requirement, Congress found, "racial
and language minority citizens will be deprived of the opportunity to
exercise their right to vote, or will have their votes diluted,
undermining the significant gains made by minorities in the last 40
years."

The provision remains an effective and essential check against
widespread voting violations. Many jurisdictions still actively
sabotage the interests of minority voters, as shown in new efforts to
keep these voters from the polls. Discrimination would be even more
widespread without the continuing and critical deterrence of the
preclearance requirement.

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Together, we can change the world, one mind at a time.
Have a great day,
Tommy

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Together, we can change the world, one mind at a time.
Have a great day,
Tommy

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