The Supreme Court chose, 8 to 1, not to mess with the Voting Rights Act. Chief Justice John Roberts, who is able to make the blandest statements seem ominous, wrote, “Whether conditions continue to justify such legislation is a difficult constitutional question we do not answer today.”
Emphasis on today. And on do not answer. Though conservative justices “derided” Section 5 of the Act (the part of the law in question, which requires thousands of municipalities in southern states with histories of discrimination to receive Justice Department clearance before changing their voting procedures), they left it intact. Instead, they created a way for municipalities to seek exemption.
The ruling puzzled experts, who expected the Court to strike down the provision. The Court’s relative restraint might have been a signal to Congress that the law needed to change; it may have been a way to undermine the Voting Rights Act without appearing to be the dreaded “activist” judges everyone carps about. In any case, it occurs at a time when new groups of voters need protections, a need that requires looking forward as well as back.
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