Posted on Mar 1, 2023
How a Supreme Court justice's paragraph put the Voting Rights Act in more danger
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https://www.npr.org/2023/02/26/ [login to see] /supreme-court-voting-rights-act-private-right-of-action-arkansas
The roots of the next potential U.S. Supreme Court showdown that could further weaken the Voting Rights Act's protections against racial discrimination can be traced to a handful of sentences by Justice Neil Gorsuch.
In the summer of 2021, Gorsuch — the first Supreme Court appointee by former President Donald Trump — tacked a single-paragraph concurring opinion onto a major court ruling to "flag one thing."
The ruling was for a lawsuit about Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act.
And the "thing" Gorsuch wanted to flag was a question he said no one in the case had raised before the court: Who has the right to sue to try to enforce that key section of the landmark law?
For decades, private individuals and groups, who did not represent the federal government, have filed the majority of Section 2 lawsuits that have stopped state and local governments from minimizing the political power of people of color through the redrawing of voting maps and other steps in the elections process.
But that longstanding practice may be coming to an end.
The roots of the next potential U.S. Supreme Court showdown that could further weaken the Voting Rights Act's protections against racial discrimination can be traced to a handful of sentences by Justice Neil Gorsuch.
In the summer of 2021, Gorsuch — the first Supreme Court appointee by former President Donald Trump — tacked a single-paragraph concurring opinion onto a major court ruling to "flag one thing."
The ruling was for a lawsuit about Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act.
And the "thing" Gorsuch wanted to flag was a question he said no one in the case had raised before the court: Who has the right to sue to try to enforce that key section of the landmark law?
For decades, private individuals and groups, who did not represent the federal government, have filed the majority of Section 2 lawsuits that have stopped state and local governments from minimizing the political power of people of color through the redrawing of voting maps and other steps in the elections process.
But that longstanding practice may be coming to an end.
How a Supreme Court justice's paragraph put the Voting Rights Act in more danger
Posted from npr.org
Supreme Court
Voting
Racism
Discrimination
American History
Posted 1 y ago
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Lt Col Scott Shuttleworth
Yep...lets restructure what has worked for us since 1790 as a check and balance for BOTH SIDES of the aisle cause it doesn't fit our current narrative...Yeah...that'll work out good for America! SARCASM
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PO1 William "Chip" Nagel
...""It keeps me up at night," says Doug Spencer, an associate professor of law at the University of Colorado, who tracks voting rights lawsuits and is concerned about the argument not to allow private individuals to sue under Section 2.
"If that process is taken off the table, then the protection of minority voting rights will be much weaker after that case than it was before," Spencer adds. "This is one important thread that could unravel what remains of the Voting Rights Act."...
...""It keeps me up at night," says Doug Spencer, an associate professor of law at the University of Colorado, who tracks voting rights lawsuits and is concerned about the argument not to allow private individuals to sue under Section 2.
"If that process is taken off the table, then the protection of minority voting rights will be much weaker after that case than it was before," Spencer adds. "This is one important thread that could unravel what remains of the Voting Rights Act."...
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