Staff Reports
The Voting Rights Act of 1965 is a landmark U.S. federal statute that prohibits racial discrimination in voting. It was signed into law by President Lyndon B. Johnson during the height of the civil rights movement on Aug. 6, 1965. Congress later amended the Act five times to expand its protections.
Designed to enforce voting rights protected by the 14th and 15th Amendments to the U.S. Constitution, the Act sought to secure the right to vote for racial minorities throughout the country, especially in the South.
The U.S. Department of Justice considers the Act to be the most effective piece of federal civil rights legislation ever enacted.
The National Archives and Records Administration stated: “The Voting Rights Act of 1965 was the most significant statutory change in the relationship between the federal and state governments in the area of voting since the Reconstruction period after the Civil War.”
The act contains numerous provisions that regulate elections. Its “general provisions” provide nationwide protections for voting rights. Section 2 prohibits state and local governments from imposing rules that restrict the right of citizens to vote on account of race, color, or membership in a language minority group.
Other provisions outlaw literacy tests and similar devices that were historically used to disenfranchise racial minorities.
The act also contains “special provisions” that apply to jurisdictions with a history of racial discrimination in voting, such as the Section 5 preclearance requirement, which prohibits those jurisdictions from implementing any change affecting voting without first receiving confirmation from the U.S. attorney general or the U.S. District Court for D.C. that the change doesn’t discriminate against protected minorities.
In their April 29 decision, the Supreme Court struck down a Louisiana redistricting map that had created a second majority-Black district.
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Justice Samuel Alito’s majority opinion effectively raised the bar for challenging discriminatory maps, suggesting that plaintiffs must now prove intentional discrimination rather than just showing a discriminatory “effect.”
Alito wrote that “allowing race to play any part in government decisionmaking represents a departure from the constitutional rule that applies in almost every other context.” He said Section 2 of the Act is effectively limited instances of intentional discrimination, a very high standard.
Chief Justice John Roberts described the 6th Congressional District in Louisana, which is the district that brought the matter into question, as a “snake” that stretches more than 200 miles to link parts of Shreveport, Alexandria, Lafayette, and Baton Rouge.
Dissenting Justice Elena Kagan described the ruling as the “now-completed demolition” of the Voting Rights Act, arguing it forecloses most federal claims aimed at ensuring minority political participation through fair districting.
Former President Barack Obama said the decision shows “how a majority of the current Court seems intent on abandoning its vital role in ensuring equal participation in our democracy.”
Following the ruling, NAACP President and CEO Derrick Johnson called the decision “a devastating blow.”
“The Supreme Court betrayed Black voters, they betrayed America, and they betrayed our democracy,” he said. “This ruling is a major setback for our nation and threatens to erode the hard-won victories we’ve fought, bled, and died for. Our best defense and offense is the ballot box, and we’re going to turn out voters for the midterm elections to make sure we can elect represenatives who look out for us.”
A White House representative voiced the Trump’s administration’s support of the Court’s decision.
“This is a complete and total victory for American voters,” White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson wrote in a statement she sent out to multiple media outlets. “The color of one’s skin should not dicate which congressional district you belong to. We commend the court for putting an end to the unconstiutional abuse of the Voting Rights Act and protecting civil rights.”
