Home -> Law Blog Directory -> Constitutional Law Blogs -> ACS Blog

Constitutional Law

: ACS Blog

Voting Rights Act Upheld; Possible Supreme Court Appeal

Late last week, a special three-judge panel unanimously upheld Congress’s 25-year extension of a provision of the Voting Rights Act that bars state and local governments with a history of racial discrimination from changing election laws without prior approval. SCOTUSBlog noted that the 121-page opinion, written by D.C. Circuit Judge David S. Tatel, will likely be appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court. The New York Times explained that “each renewal of the law has been followed by a legal challenge from some state or local agency to this preclearance requirement.”

Judge Tatel wrote that from 1980 to 2000, the Justice Department blocked 421 voting changes on the grounds they were intentionally discriminatory.

ACS compiled these resources when the Voting Rights Act was up for renewal by Congress. ACS also hosted this discussion on the constitutionality of the VRA.

Update: The decision was announced by a special three-judge district court panel, with appeal directly to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Full post as published by ACS Blog on June 06, 2008 (boomark / email).