Should we have changed the voting rights act when we had the chance?

[dsc]

I totally disagree with the decision on voting rights that was handed down on Tuesday, but to be fair there was some warning given that this might happen. In a case out of Texas, the Court passed up the chance to overturn the act but stated at the time, that the formula was a problem. In all honesty, I think there is something to be said for the idea that the formula had a problem. Ohio, a non covered state, richly deserves based on its recent record, to be covered. But, that said, the 15 Amendment is quite clear on this, Congress gets to decide how to enforce the voting rights of African Americans. The notion that the Radical Republicans who passed that amendment would have any problem with treating the old confederacy differently from other states is absurd. For a group of people literally obsessed with the original intent, that is totally hypocritical. One suggestion would be to have all states subject to pre clearance. Another idea might be to make any state that has used anything the DOJ has thrown out in a pre cleared state, qualify a state for pre clearance. Of course, now we would have a much harder time getting the formula changed. But in case we get the House back we should be thinking about this.

[leveymg]

1. It's been upheld and revised a half-dozen times, last time was 2006.

The Act wasn't struck down, just the part that forces some states that were historically suppressing minority votes to clear their state and local voting laws with Federal Courts. This decision, no doubt, will make it easier for states to impose restrictive laws and force every issue to be litigated - so it is a bad thing. But, it's not the end of the 1965 VRA.

[dsc]

2. I know that which is why the entire post was about states which were

covered in pre clearance. So should we have rewritten that when we had the chance?

[leveymg]

3. There are many things, including making pre-clearance mandatory for all states, that should have

been part of the First 100 Days in 2009, but weren't because of the strategy of appeasing conservatives. We may well have missed the chance, you're right.