“Supreme Court Upholds, But Narrows Voting Rights Act”
“Supreme Court Upholds, But Narrows Voting Rights Act”
By a vote of 8 to 1, The Supreme Court upheld Section 5 of Voting Rights Act, but says that it raises “serious constitutional questions” and that localities can “bail out” if practices survive scrutiny.
The court did not explicitly rule on the constitutionality of the act, although it recognized that its implementation more than 40 years after passage of the Voting Rights Act raises “serious constitutional concerns,” and that the “preclearance requirement represents an intrusion into areas of stateand local responsibility that is otherwise unfamiliar to our federal system.”
Justice Clarence Thomas dissented, arguing that the act had run its course and the conditions that allow its imposition no longer exist.
(via Jack and Jill Politics)
