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The US Supreme Court struck down a central portion of the Voting Rights Act Tuesday, ruling that Congress overstepped its authority when it reauthorized the landmark civil rights law in 2006 for an additional 25 years.

The court said Congress must demonstrate that the law’s requirements are necessary to address problems that exist right now, not problems that existed 40 years ago.

In a dissent, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg said the majority decision “can hardly be described as an exemplar of restrained and moderate decisionmaking.” “Quite the opposite,” Justice Ginsburg said. “Hubris is a fit word for today’s demolition of the VRA.”

Tom Perriello of the Center for American Progress said the court had ignored the reality of discrimination in the country.

“The majority overruled a bipartisan commitment to liberty and provided indefensible cover to partisan efforts across the country to rig elections,” Mr. Perriello said in a statement.

“Congress may draft another formula based on current conditions,” he said. “Such a formula is an initial prerequisite to a determination that exceptional conditions still exist justifying such an extraordinary departure from the traditional course of relations between the States and the Federal Government.”

Four years ago, in 2009, the court stopped short of invalidating the measures. But the justices made clear in an 8 to 1 decision that the VRA contained constitutional deficiencies that Congress should address.

No legislative action was taken. http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Justice/2013/0625/Supreme-Court-voids-key
-portion-of-Voting-Rights-Act-as-outdated?nav=87-frontpage-entryLeadStory

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Following VRA Ruling, Perry Signs New Texas Congressional Map Into Law

Texas Gov. Rick Perry (R) on Wednesday signed a new Congressional district for the state into law, a move that would have required federal approval prior to the Supreme Court’s ruling on the Voting Rights Act (VRA).

Perry’s action, confirmed by an aide to Roll Call, was day removed from the Supreme Court’s decision to gut Section 5 from the landmark 1965 civil rights law. Prior to the court’s ruling, Section 5 required Texas — as well as other states with a history of racial discrimination — to clear any changes to its voting laws, including redistricting, with the federal government. http://littlegreenfootballs.com/page/298703_Following_VRA_Ruling_Perry
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Top Senate Republican Hints Voting Rights Act May Be Held Hostage In Exchange For Voter Suppression

Tuesday’s decision neutering a key prong of the Voting Rights Act leaves supporters of voting rights in a difficult position. If they do nothing, voter suppression laws can go into effect, and may not be struck down by the courts until after they have succeeded in disenfranchising many voters. Yet the Roberts Court’s decision to hollow out America’s voting rights protections also allows conservatives to exact concessions before the voting rights regime that five Republican justices killed can be restored.
Shortly after the decision, Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA), the top Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee, dropped a hint at just what those concessions could be — give the greenlight to a common GOP-backed voter suppression law, or the heart of the Voting Rights Act is dead forever. In an interview with CBS News, Grassley claimed he is “open to looking at ways to address the issues addressed in the court’s decision.” Yet he added that he believed the Justice Department was wrong to use the act to block “common sense measures such as voter identification laws.”
Voter ID laws are not common sense, and they are exactly the kind of device the Voting Rights Act was enacted to prevent. http://tal9000.tumblr.com/post/54129259494/top-senate-republican-hints
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