SCOTUS decision kills “most successful weapon” against racial discrimination in voting
The Supreme Court’s decision in Shelby County v. Holder
effectively kills the most successful weapon our nation has ever
produced against racial discrimination in voting, says constitutional
and election law expert Gregory Magarian, JD, professor of law at
Washington University in St. Louis. He says the Court’s decision reflects a victory
for two big ideas: state power, at the expense of racial justice; and
judicial power, at the expense of democracy.
Voter ID laws posed big hurdle for minority youth in 2012 elections, study confirms
At polling places across America in November 2012,
Latinos and African Americans under age 30 were disproportionately asked
for identification, even in states that do not have voter ID laws,
according to a post-election analysis by researchers at Washington
University in St. Louis and the University of Chicago.
SCOTUS oral arguments reflect indifference to constitutional grounding of Voting Rights Act
The Supreme Court appears very likely to strike down the most important provision of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, says Gregory P. Magarian, JD, constitution law expert and professor of law at Washington University in St. Louis. “This was an unusually revealing oral argument, because two justices asked questions that reflected both fundamental misunderstanding of the law and disturbing indifference to the constitutional grounding of the Voting Rights Act,” he says.
Supreme Court Texas redistricting case could mark major change in Voting Rights Act
In the case currently before the U.S. Supreme Court, Texas is contesting a federal court’s redrawing of the state’s electoral district lines for the upcoming primary election. Under Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act, Texas must get preclearance from the U.S. Department of Justice before it can institute any voting changes. “This case gives the Supreme Court an opportunity to weaken or even strike down Section 5,” says Gregory Magarian, JD, election law expert and professor of law at Washington University in St. Louis. “If Texas wins, even if the Court stops short of striking down Section 5 altogether, it will mark a major change in the law. The Supreme Court will essentially be saying that racial voting discrimination by state officials is no longer a problem that justifies a federal remedy.”
Association of Black Students Lecture to feature leading civil rights activist Robert Moses
Robert Moses, one of the leading figures in the American civil rights movement, will give the Assembly Series lecture at 11 a.m. Wed., April 6 in Graham Chapel. The annual Martin Luther King memorial event, sponsored by the Association of Black Students, is free and open to the public. This is the keynote address for the “Documenting Change” symposium.