The United States Supreme Court ruled today to side-step the challenge of Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act of 1964. To recap a March post to the Commons, Section 5 limits the autonomy of voting districts (mainly across the South) with histories of discriminatory policies to curtail the African-American vote.
According to today’s ruling, these districts will still need federal approval to make changes to their voting laws as the justices deemed the issue too “delicate” of an undertaking for this time.
Possible interpretations: either this ruling a simple example of “if it’s not broke don’t fix it”… or the Court is sympathetic that Southern voting law still need the incentive of federal monitoring to ensure fairness.
— Norah Mallaney
