THE VOTING RIGHTS ACT DECISION SEEMS TO MAKE SENSE

Section 4 of the Act really does need to be updated.

Supreme Court strikes down key provision of Voting Rights Act

Michael Doyle | McClatchy Washington Bureau
Posted on Tuesday, June 25, 2013

The law, though revised several times, still pegs pre-clearance coverage in part to voting turnout or registration in the 1964, 1968 and 1972 elections.

“Congress did not use the record it compiled to shape a coverage formula grounded in current conditions,” Roberts wrote.

When Congress first passed the law in 1965, the pre-clearance measures were expected to last only five years. Instead, they’ve been renewed with ever-longer extensions. The most recent renewal of the Voting Rights Act, in 2006, extended the provisions for another 25 years.