At first blush, this decision by the Supreme Court in the case of Shelby County v Holder would indicate a big victory for opponents of the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Justices struck down the formula used by the Department of Justice to determine which states and localities must ask permission of the government before changing their voting laws. But the court did not throw out the advance approval requirement itself. Instead, they ordered Congress to come up with a new formula  that more realistically reflects the changes in American society since 1965. to determine which states and localities will need to seek permission to change their laws. The significance of the decision is thus muted by the notion that the federal government can still oversee what is clearly the responsibility of states to design and implement their own voting procedures. If a racial minority feels those procedures are racist or puts them at a disadvantage, they should be able to use the courts to try and...(Read Full Post)