The U.S. Justice Department is preparing to take aim at a string of restrictive voting laws across the U.S. following a 5-4 decision by the U.S. Supreme Court that struck down key provisions of the 1965 Voting Rights Act earlier this summer.
At the heart of the controversy is Section 4 of the Voting Rights Act, which required nine states — mostly in the South — to get federal approval before changing voting or election laws.
Section 4 was originally included in the Voting Rights Act to ensure that areas with a history of voter suppression did not change laws in a way that would limit access to the polls for Blacks and other minority groups.
Opponents of Section 4 claimed that it violated the Constitution’s equal protection clause by singling out states and jurisdictions for special scrutiny, an argument that prevailed in the Supreme Court’s ruling in June. Some states have already passed voter ID laws and limits on early voting, two measures that critics believe will make it more difficult for students, minority voters and those in poorer communities to cast ballots.
Attorney General Eric Holder has announced plans to challenge election laws in Texas. He hopes to re-establish the preclearance requirement for Texas following a redistricting process that Holder has labeled as discriminatory.
“Based on the evidence of intentional racial discrimination that was presented last year in the redistricting case, Texas v. Holder … we believe that the state of Texas should be required to go through a preclearance process whenever it changes its voting laws and practices,” said Holder during a meeting of the National Urban League.
Holder’s announcement has been met by vociferous criticism from the GOP — especially Texas Gov. Rick Perry, who said the challenge demonstrates the Obama administration’s “utter contempt” for the U.S. Constitution.
“Once again, the Obama Administration is demonstrating utter contempt for our country’s system of checks and balances, not to mention the U.S. Constitution,” Perry said in a statement. “This end-run around the Supreme Court undermines the will of the people of Texas, and casts unfair aspersions on our state’s common-sense efforts to preserve the integrity of our elections process.”
Some states appear undeterred by the Justice Department’s announcement. Bloomberg News reports that state legislators in North Carolina have pressed forward with plans to implement more restrictive voting laws during this legislative session.
The state Senate voted 33-14 this week to limit the time-frame for early voting and require voters to show photo identification. The state House then approved the measure 73-41, making North Carolina the first state to enact more restrictive voting laws since the Supreme Court decision in June.
Some legal experts believe the Supreme Court decision and subsequent state laws restricting voting are a step backward when it comes to ensuring poor Americans and minority groups have access to the polls.
“The right to vote is at stake,” said Myrna Perez, deputy director of the Brennan Center for Justice at New York University School of Law. “Persons’ ability to have a say in our ability in the country to have free and fair elections is at stake.”