Washington (CNN) -- A deeply divided Supreme Court has limited use of a key provision in the landmark Voting Rights Act of 1965, in effect invalidating the key enforcement provision that applies to all or parts of 15 states with past history of voter discrimination.
The case involved Section 5, which gives federal authorities open-ended oversight of states and localities with a history of voter discrimination. Any changes in voting laws and procedures in the covered areas -- which include all or parts of 15 states -- must be "pre-cleared" with Washington.
After the provision was reauthorized by Congress in 2006 for another 25 years, counties in Alabama and North Carolina filed suit, saying the monitoring was burdensome and unwarranted.
Voices from the voting war
Civil rights groups say Section 5 has proved to be an important tool in protecting minority voters from local governments that would set unfair, shifting barriers to the polls. If it is ruled unconstitutional, they warn, the very power and effect of the entire Voting Rights Act would crumble.
But opponents of the provision counter that it should not be enforced in areas where it can be argued that racial discrimination no longer exists.
to explain..
some states back in the day.. would make 'voting laws' to limit the black-vote...ex. poll-taxes or literacy tests.. etc. So the feds jumped in and said "Uh, not anymore fella's. From now on if you want to make new 'voting laws' you have to get our approval first because the 'laws' you guys seem to only enact are designated to stop only blacks from voting"..
now fastforward to when Acorn and a black man stole the election from a good and honorable white gentlemen.. those same 15 states decided they wanted to stop funding polling place in some 'voting areas', just so happened they were in the black neighborhoods.. they also decided they were going to limit the number of days to vote, which just so happened to limit black votes.. an btw, we know you've have the 'voting registration drive' going to 50 years where you all go after church the 1st weekend before the general election to vote.. but we're going to take that from you too.. sorry that it was only the blacks that did that, but hey we elected a black man so there's no racism anymore, right?
When these states started catching shit from the Fed for making up these new 'jim crow voting laws'.. (like the guys in one state who closed the polls early in dem/black districts and opened them late in the white/republican district {swear to God, true story})..those states said "Eh, we'll take it to the conservative Supreme Court and see what they say"..
and what they said was
"Yep, sounds good to us.. you good ole boys just go right on ahead and make the laws you want to.. we elected a black man, there's no racism anymore"..Maybe you don't think states try and pass shitty voting laws anymore, that it's thing of past.. well, you only have to look back to 2012 to see that yep.. we still do it...
http://www.thenation.com/blog/171146/gops-failed-voter-suppression-strategy#axzz2XEy3Z9lbSo ok, the Supreme's didn't say exactly say "It's a free-for-all..." what the said was they are striking down the enforcement part of the civil rights act " ...until Congress gives us new guidelines"..
yaaaa we'll just wait for congress to decide a racial issue.. that should be easy huh?
