Project on Fair Representation Comments: U.S. Supreme Court Strikes Down Part of the Voting Rights Act

WASHINGTON, June 25, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Today, the United States Supreme Court struck down as unconstitutional a portion of the 2006 reauthorization of the Voting Rights Act.

Shelby Co., Alabama challenged the act in 2010 arguing that Congress's failure to modernize the law in light of the enormous improvements in minority electoral opportunities in the states covered by the law rendered it unconstitutional.

Frank C, Ellis, Jr., the county attorney for Shelby County, Alabama, said, "We are grateful the Supreme Court recognized that our vibrant and diverse county no longer requires federal supervision of our elections."

Ellis added, "The justices correctly acknowledged that the covered jurisdictions should no longer be punished by the federal government for conditions that existed over 40 years ago. The South is an altogether different place than it was in 1965."

The Project on Fair Representation (POFR), a not-for-profit legal defense foundation based in Alexandria, Virginia, provided counsel to Shelby Co.

Edward Blum, director of POFR, said, "This decision restores an important constitutional order to our system of government which requires that all 50 states are entitled to equal dignity and sovereignty. Our nation's laws must apply uniformly to each state and jurisdiction."

Blum added, "The Supreme Court today confirmed that there are no meaningful differences in minority voting opportunities between the covered and non-covered jurisdictions. African Americans and Hispanics routinely win elections in white-majority districts in states such as Texas, Georgia, Alabama, and South Carolina, to name a few."

"The American South long ago laid down the burdens of minority disfranchisement and has integrated African Americans fully into its political life," Blum said.

Blum concluded, "The Supreme Court's opinion is a great testament to the character of the American people who have labored to fulfill the guarantee of racial equality in voting."

Contact: Edward Blum
(703) 505-1922
[email protected] 

www.projectonfairrepresentation.org

SOURCE The Project on Fair Representation