Our Voting Rights Act Coverage, So Far

The Supreme Court today ruled in Shelby County v. Holder that the coverage formula for the preclearance provision of the Voting Rights Act exceeded congressional authority under the Fifteenth Amendment.  The ruling means that the preclearance provision of the VRA remains on the books, but sits dormant, as there is no formula specifying its coverage.  Congress can re-write the formula, but it seems unlikely that this Congress can do that in a way that would satisfy this Supreme Court.  The ruling did not touch Section 2 of the VRA, the section banning race discrimination and allowing individual case-by-case litigation against offending practices.

We posted several times this morning on the ruling; here is our coverage so far:

• Court Strikes Voting Rights Act Preclearance Coverage Formula
• Chief Justice Roberts's Paean to Equal State Sovereignty
• The Core Problem With Preclearance Coverage Under the Voting Rights Act
• What's Next for Voting Rights?
• Justice Thomas's Concurrence on Voting Rights
• Justice Ginsburg's Dissent in Shelby County

SDS