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Continuing Challenges to the Voting Rights Act Since Shelby County v. Holder

 

Kristen Clarke, President and Executive Director of the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, testified before the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on the Judiciary. At the hearing, “Continuing Challenges to the Voting Rights Act Since Shelby County v. Holder,” Clarke highlighted ongoing attacks on voting rights. Shelby County gutted Section 5, a key provision which prevented discriminatory laws from immediately going into effect in jurisdictions with a history of voting discrimination and voter suppression. 

 

Clarke stated that since 2013, we have seen:

  • The resurgence of discriminatory voting practices, many motivated by intentional discrimination;
  • Officials who institute and re-institute discriminatory voting changes, with only minor changes;
  • The loss of public notice regarding changes in voting practices that could have a discriminatory effect;
  • The elimination of the public’s ability to participate in the process of reviewing those practices; and
  • The increasing burden placed on civil rights organizations and community leaders who must fill in the gap of fighting for equal voting rights and protections in the absence of robust federal oversight. 

 

There have been numerous consequences of Shelby County v. Holder, a significant majority of which negatively impact the rights of minority voters:

  • Polling place consolidation, ID requirements, and a reduction of early-voting hours and locations;
  • A lack of transparency has allowed voter suppression techniques to fly under the radar, particularly those that disfranchise members of racial or language minority groups;
  • Voters of color and the organizations representing their interests have seen a decline in participation in some elections;
  • Some communities have moved swiftly to relocate polling places to areas seen as hostile by communities of color, like police stations; and
  • The increased burden and cost of litigation is hurting civil rights groups, who are already stretched thin.

 

Read the full testimony here.