The first page of the Voting Rights Act (1965).

On June 25, 2013, the Supreme Court issued a 5-4 decision in the case Shelby County v. Holder that had broad implications involving The Voting Rights Act of 1965 (referred to as the VRA).  The VRA was enacted by the United States Congress due to discriminatory acts that were conducted throughout the South including literacy tests.  These tests (as well as poll taxes and grandfather clauses) were designed in order to prohibit African Americans from voting and existed in the South since the passage of the Fifteenth Amendment to the Constitution in 1870.

These roadblocks were extraordinarily effective in the South.  Prior to the passage of this bill, for example, only seven percent of African Americans had been registered to vote in Mississippi by 1965.[1]  The VRA and its subsequent enforcement enabled the federal government the ability to inhibit discriminatory practices.  Not only did the bill prohibit racial discrimination, but it also required districts with a history of discrimination to seek clearance from the federal government if they sought to make any changes that affected voting procedure.  The bill had been renewed twice, most recently in 2006 (for a span of 25 years). Continue reading →